Drachmas and Galleons
by AvengerOfTheEighthHorcrux
Summary: Ashleigh Dumbledore, youngest sister of Albus Dumbledore and unknown to the world. She runs away and gives birth to the child of a god. This child is one of a kind: a half blood in more ways than one. Full Summary in story, please read and review!
1. Spanning Two Worlds

Drachmas and Galleons

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson or Harry Potter series. They belong to Rick Riordan and J.K. Rowling respectively.

Prelude

Chapter 1

* * *

Summary: We all know that Albus and Aberforth Dumbledore only had one sister, Ariana…right? That's what everyone thought but it turns out that there was another sister, younger than Ariana, named Ashleigh. The Dumbledore family kept her a secret; to them she was a burden. Not because she was a squib, no she had perfect magical capabilities, but she could see things no one else could. When she came of age she ran from her home, never to see any of her family again. To this day nobody knows what happened to her and few even know she ever existed. But she did, and she died too. She died giving birth to a child. A child, of Poseidon.

* * *

Now as a god, Poseidon tried not to cry…ever. But now he was crying, the salty tears flowing down his cheeks, falling into the sea as he stood with waves breaking around his ankles. They were tears of sorrow but of joy at the same time. Sorrow for the woman whom he had cared for, Ashleigh Dumbledore, dead from giving birth to his child. Joy for the baby, his new daughter, whom he held lovingly in his arms as he rocked her gently in time with the waves. Now he had a daughter and a son. His other lover, Sally Jackson, had given birth to a boy just days ago. His name was Perseus, named after the only hero ever to have a happy ending.

He felt guilty then, as he looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms. He had fathered two children with two different women at nearly exactly the same time. What had surprised him was that the two knew about each other and were okay with it. He couldn't have asked for two greater women in his life. But now one was gone, her body, stolen by the sea and her soul, stolen by his brother. Unfortunately the two children would not meet until they both went to Camp Half-Blood.

Poseidon knew that he would have to take her to his home, his undersea palace, until she could go to camp. Why you ask? Because Ashleigh's family did not know she was dead or that she had a child, much less his child. He supposed that he could send her to live with Sally and Percy but no, that wouldn't do. Two children of his in one house would be much too dangerous for anyone in the area. He had already broken the pact he and his brothers made by having Percy but now with another child, he feared the worst. If news of his two children, especially born so close together, reached Hades ears…or worse, the ears of Zeus. The results would be catastrophic. Zeus would most likely exile him to gods knows where and kill the two children. He could not, under any circumstances, let that happen.

He stepped farther into the sea and let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He had to get his daughter to the safety of the sea so that Zeus would not find out about her until it was safer. Two large hippocampi rose out of the sea with a chariot made of sea foam behind them. He climbed into the chariot and held the baby close as the hippocampi slowly descended under the waves.

'Go as fast as you can to my palace,' He ordered them in his thoughts, grimacing as he played worst case scenario in his mind.

'Yes my lord, we must keep our king and princess safe from harm,' the hippocampi thought back as they increased their speed.

Poseidon flinched slightly as he heard thunder rumble above the surface. Surely Zeus hadn't found out already, it was impossible! No, most likely Zeus was just getting angry again, he did have quite the temper. Even so, Poseidon bent the sea to his will, making the currents push them faster and deeper, farther away from his brother's strong hold and closer to his own.

'I'm sorry Ashleigh, I miss you,' Poseidon thought, wishing that some way, down in the underworld she could hear him.

He ran a finger down his daughter's cheek and her eyes fluttered open. He stared into her sea green eyes, so much like his own, and ran a hand through her small tuft of black hair. She shut her eyes again and snuggled closer to her father as the chariot pulled to a stop at his palace. He stepped out of the chariot and walked to his room. He called one of his naiads to set up a crib for his daughter in his room. He wrapped her soft blue blanket more snuggly around her and laid her in the new crib.

"My beautiful daughter," He whispered softly so as not to wake her, "you are my beautiful daughter, Natalia Oceana Dumbledore. Good night."

He kissed her gently on the forehead and went to lie in his own bed. Sleep did not come however as he couldn't stop thinking about his two children. He wondered if Natalia would be like her mother, if she would be a witch. If so then she would need to be trained in magic but she also needed to be at camp to learn how to fight monsters. It was a tough decision but he decided that Natalia would go to camp when she turned 11 and stay until she could fight well enough to defend herself, most likely until she was fifteen.

Then he would send her to Hogwarts. He had learned from Ashleigh that it was a school in England run by her brother, Natalia's uncle, Albus. Minerva McGonagall, whom Ashleigh decided would be Natalia's godmother also worked there. Now Poseidon doubted that this woman named after the Roman counterpart of Athena even knew she had a goddaughter at all. He also knew that a school, most likely one in America since that is where she would be, would send a letter of some sort, notifying her that she needed to attend a magic school. But Poseidon would keep her at Camp Half-Blood all year round; she was a demi-god after all.

He would send her to get a wand and any magical necessities when she reached 11 but other than that she would have to train first as a demi-god, second as a witch. He was slightly worried what kind of power she might hold, being a daughter of the big three and a witch, but he brushed it off, she would be fine. He knew she would be hated, wanted, used, and feared but he also knew she was strong, not just with her power but inside.

If only he knew just how strong she would have to be to survive.

* * *

So I did a little editing on this chapter. Thanks to ChordOverstreetFan for telling me about my birthday mess up! Percy and Natalia are only a few days apart, not a month like I had before. Sorry!

~Phoenix


	2. Finding a Wand

Drachmas and Galleons

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson or Harry Potter series. They belong to Rick Riordan and J.K. Rowling respectively.

Prelude

Chapter 2

Summary: We all know that Albus and Aberforth Dumbledore only had one sister, Ariana…right? That's what everyone thought but it turns out that there was another sister, younger than Ariana, named Ashleigh. The Dumbledore family kept her a secret; to them she was a burden. Not because she was a squib, no she had perfect magical capabilities, but she could see things no one else could. When she came of age she ran from her home, never to see any of her family again. To this day nobody knows what happened to her and few even know she ever existed. But she did, and she died too. She died giving birth to a child. A child, of Poseidon.

* * *

Poseidon watched his daughter playing with one of the younger naiads. Natalia was already 4 years old and he couldn't believe how the years had flown by. He remembered everything, her first smile, first laugh, first steps, and first word. All of the naiads and other sea creatures in and around his palace loved her. Being the only human she was different from what many of the creatures had ever seen. Whenever Poseidon had to go visit Olympus of attend to any other godly duties the naiads, merpeople, and even the cyclopses fought over who got to watch Natalia for the day. She had quite the audience growing up and she had managed to captivate them all.

Natalia, though she was only four, was already showing signs of her magical capabilities and this worried Poseidon greatly. Perhaps he could send her to camp earlier than normal but why risk it when she was perfectly safe in her home. He gave a small sad smile when he heard her tinkling, bell-like laugh sounding from the other room. He turned to see her and Azure, the young naiad, playing with a stuffed pegasus. Pegasi were Natalia's favorite animals and Poseidon decided that when she left for camp he would create one out of the sea foam just for her. Unfortunately pegasi couldn't be kept at his undersea palace or else she would already have one.

Percy was also getting along quite well, though Poseidon didn't have the opportunity to visit him and Sally as often as he'd like. He wondered if Sally was going to tell Percy about Natalia or if he'd just find out when he got to camp. Of course he wouldn't know that she was his sister though. Poseidon couldn't claim Percy right away; Zeus would have one of his godly fits. And Natalia, well he might as well just claim her since she would know he was her father beforehand. He supposed he could just claim her when he claimed Percy but she would already know so what would be the point. He just hoped the two would stay safe.

* * *

_Time jump (A/N: don't worry, I won't normally do a time jump in the middle of a chapter but it just goes with the story, sorry)_

Natalia sighed as she grabbed a jacket and went to go find her father. Today was her 11th birthday and her father had promised to take her to the famous Diagon Alley. She had learned she was a witch when she was 7. She had gotten mad at one of the naiads for accidentally ripping the wing off of her stuffed white pegasus, Snowy, and then the naiad was hanging upside down with a bed sheet wrapped around her like a cocoon. After that her father had finally told her that her mother, Ashleigh, was a witch and that it was most likely magic that she used. So now that she was 11 they were going on a trip to the wizarding world to get her a wand and anything else she needed.

She knew most witches and wizard left for a magic school at age 11 but since she was also a demi-god she would have to go to Camp Half Blood first. She had asked why she couldn't just go to camp in the summer like most kids and then go to school the rest of the year but her father had said that monsters might try to attack her at school and that even though she was a witch, he wanted her to have proper fighting abilities.

Azure, one of the naiads and her best friend, had taught her a little bit about how to use a dagger but it wasn't enough to protect her against a very powerful monster. She grabbed her dagger, Hurricane; fashioned from celestial bronze and imbedded with the power of the sea, and strapped it to her belt anyways, just for peace of mind. She knew she wouldn't need it since she would be with her father, the god of the sea, but she felt better knowing it was there.

Natalia quickly ran a brush through her straight black hair which she had streaked with sea green to match her eyes and slipped on her jacket. She walked into the living room to find her father staring intently at a map. Most likely a map of England since it was unfamiliar territory.

"Ready to go dad?" She asked him, rolling her eyes when he jumped in surprise.

He was a god for Merlin's sake! Shouldn't he be more observant and why would that scare him? She just sighed to herself and followed her father as he led the way to his chariot. Natalia held on tight as the chariot sped away being pushed by strong ocean currents. Natalia closed her eyes and focused on the water rushing around her and tried to help her father out. She had been experimenting with her demi-god powers lately but with no luck so far. She was rewarded however with a small jolt of speed that quickly faded but she smiled like she had won the lottery. It might have been small but hey, progress was progress.

"Was that you hun?" Poseidon asked, trying to hide his surprise.

"Yep!" Natalia shouted out, giddy with joy.

Poseidon chuckled at his daughters delight but couldn't hide his own proud smile. He knew she would be alright when she left for camp next week. Especially since then she would have a wand as well. Of course she didn't know many spells, only the ones out of the few books Poseidon had managed to find, but it was still something.

The chariot came to a slow as in began its ascent. Natalia grinned in anticipation as the chariot broke the waves and stopped near the rocky shore. Poseidon, who was now looking like a normal human, stepped onto the rocks and held out a hand for his daughter. She took it willingly and waved to the hippocampi as they dove back under the waves. Father and daughter took off side by side, chatting endlessly as they made their way toward The Leaky Cauldron. Apparently there was a passageway at the back of the restaurant to get to Diagon Alley. The conversation came to a halt as the pair stood before an old, run down looking diner. A sign hanging from a rusty chain was the only way they knew it was the place they were looking for.

"Hello there! Are you new here? Muggle born I'm guessing, off to Hogwarts?" The pair turned to the voice to find a middle aged man standing behind the bar.

Poseidon shook his head but Natalia was the one who answered. "No, not going to Hogwarts yet. And what's a muggle?"

The bar tender looked at her in shock but quickly regained his composer and replied. "A muggle means non-magic folk, a regular person. Oh and by the way, I'm Tom. Who are you?"

"My name's Natalia," Natalia said, motioning to herself. Then she pointed to Poseidon. "And this is my father-"

"Peter" he cut in, afraid she'd give away his true identity.

"Nice to meet you two, where will you be going to school if you're not going to Hogwarts? Beauxbatons maybe?" Tom asked curious about these strange people.

"Yes, but we need to be off now. Nice to meet you Tom," Poseidon said hurriedly, grabbing his daughters hand and walking towards the back of the bar to avoid further questioning.

"Oh of course, well nice to meet you Peter sir and you too Natalia."

Natalia gave Tom a friendly wave and followed after her dad. She saw him tapping a few bricks and gasped aloud when they moved to create an archway. Even Poseidon was slightly surprised, magic never stopped to amaze him. They stepped out of the warm atmosphere of the bar and into the busy hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley. Adults chased after their younger children and teens walked around, laughing and talking. Everyone was seen carrying bags and pulling luggage trolleys stacked high with bags and boxes full of different items. Street vendors called out, each one trying to outdo the other's sales, and offered their wares to the two to look upon.

Natalia followed her father, looking around in complete awe. Her eyes widened when she saw a giant man walking through the crowd. He had a thick bead and looked slightly dirty and frightening but she noticed he had a friendly twinkle in his eye. A young boy, probably her age, followed behind the large man as he parted the crowd. He had messy black hair and round glasses that had tape holding them together. He was wearing clothes that looked much too big for him, most likely hand me downs, and appeared to need a good wash. But the two things that caught Natalia's eyes were a small lightning shaped scar on his forehead, partly hidden by unruly bangs, and bright emerald green eyes. The two young children caught each other's eyes for a mere second and each looked at the other curiously. Natalia broke their stare down when she had to follow her father into a small shop but she could feel the boy's eyes burning into her back.

Her father's voice broke her out of her slight daze. "Natalia this is Ollivanders. I contacted him previously and he knows about what you are and who I am. He had a few wands specially shipped in that might suit you better than what he normally carries."

Natalia nodded and went to stand by the counter. She watched as an older man with glasses walked out from what she guessed was a storage room.

"Hello there, Natalia is your name right? A demi-god huh? I've never gotten one of those in here before, very intriguing. And Poseidon sir, what an honor I must say! I am Ollivander; it is very nice to meet you both."

Natalia smiled back at the old man as he winked at her and walked back to the storage room. She saw him looking at hundreds upon thousands of small boxes, each containing a unique wand. He came back a moment later carrying three boxes. Instead of the normal brown box like all of the others these three were different. There was a light blue one, a royal blue and gold one, and a green and purple one. Ollivander opened the light blue one first and pulled out what looked like an elegantly designed stick.

"9 inches, coral with a naiad hair core," Ollivander explained, handing Natalia the wand.

She waved it around but nothing happened. Sighing in defeat she handed the wand back to Ollivander.

"Alright, hardly anyone gets it on their first try. Her try this one," he said, handing her another wand from the green and purple box.

It looked beautiful and white, with a small fish carved into the handle. "11 ½ inches, carved out of driftwood, with a mermaid hair core."

Natalia waved the wand, hoping that the beautiful wand would be the one for her. A small breeze was conjured but that was all. Ollivander sadly shook his head as he took the beautiful wand away from her, knowing that she fancied it.

He handed her the last wand, giving the crestfallen girl a small hopeful smile. Natalia looked and the new wand being held out to her and took it slowly. She flinched a little when a rush of warmth flowed through her and tickled her core.

Ollivander noticed and immediately knew that the unique girl hand finally found a wand just for her. "10 inches, palm, with a hippocampi scale core."

Natalia gingerly waved the wand and gave a squeal of joy when a shower of sea green sparks flew out. Poseidon clapped loudly behind her and gave his young daughter a one armed hug. Once again he thought to himself, _Magic will never cease to amaze me_. After figuring out she had found her wand she began to study it more closely. It had a light honey colored wood that was thicker at the handle and tapered to the tip. The handle was intricately designed with a swirling pattern and a small sea green pearl was inlaid in the wood at the base. To Natalia it was absolutely perfect and absolutely hers.

"That'll be 11 galleons," Ollivander said to the sea god.

"Of course, here you go, keep the change. You've been quite helpful," Poseidon replied handing Ollivander 15 galleons.

Ollivander stuttered, trying to get out a thank-you. Poseidon, being a god and also not accustomed to the currency of the wizarding world didn't realize that to most wizards 15 galleons was quite a lot. Poseidon assured the wand maker that it really wasn't a problem and bid him farewell. Natalia also waved goodbye as she followed her dad out of the shop.

"What else do you need besides a wand? You don't need any school supplies just yet so I guess we should be getting back. Before long you'll be leaving for camp," Poseidon began feeling upset at the realization but Natalia dragged him back to the deserted rocky shore. She whistled softly and the two hippocampi rose through the waved and pulled the chariot up to the rocks. The pair stepped on and held on tight as the hippocampi dove back under the surf. Poseidon looked down at his smiling daughter who was cradling the wand in her arms.

"Daddy," She said looking up and meeting her father's eyes. "This is the best birthday ever."

"I'm glad, happy birthday darling," Poseidon replied, rubbing his daughters back. "I'll give you the rest of your gifts when we get back."

"I get more gifts? Oh thank you father!" She cried out, hugging him tightly.

Poseidon chuckled softly and hugged her back, both looking up as they reached their destination. He helped lift Natalia up out of the chariot and they headed back into the main room. They were greeted by Azure and a few of the other naiads and mermaids that were close to Natalia.

"Happy birthday Natalia!" They all shouted out, drowning her (no pun intended) in hugs.

Natalia knew she was probably grinning like a loon but quite frankly she didn't care. She took the first gift from Azure and ripped into it happily. Her smile widened as she pulled out a holster that went around her waist, like a belt. There was a place for her new wand, her dagger, a sword, and a small pouch for any other items she needed. She thanked Azure and moved onto the next gift.

She got matching sand dollar bracelets and a necklace that when pulled on transformed into a shield, a breast plate, and a helm from the other naiads and merfolk. From the cyclopses down in the forge she received a fixture to attach to her dagger so that it would always return to her if she lost it. The best gift of all, Natalia thought, was the gift from her father. Or well the gift that she was going to get from her father. He told her that he would create a pegasus from the sea foam just for her when she goes to camp in a few days.

The next two days passed in a blur for Natalia as she anxiously awaited the day she could leave for camp. Finally Friday morning came and she was over joyed. She was also upset slightly because she knew she wouldn't be able to see her father as much but camp would be so exciting. So many things to do and learn and so many people to meet, it was like a dream. Natalia quickly showered and dressed before running to find her things. She grabbed her trunk full of her clothes and another bag with personal items. She stuck her dagger and wand into the holster on her belt and made sure she had her necklace and bracelets. After going through her own mental check list Natalia knew she was ready.

Today was the day she began her adventure.

* * *

Please read and review!

~Phoenix


	3. Welcome to Camp

Drachmas and Galleons

Disclaimer: Ok knowing that I will most likely forget in the future this disclaimer goes for all of my future chapters: I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and the Olympians; they unfortunately belong to J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan, respectively.

Part 1

Chapter 3

* * *

"But why not?" Natalia demanded of her father who was still standing on the steps. "Get in the chariot, you _have_ to come!"

"I'm sorry Natalia, I know how much you wanted me to be there and I want to be there too but I just can't come with you. Don't worry, I've spoken to Chiron and he is sending a satyr to meet you at the beach alright? He'll take you to camp," Poseidon tried to reason with the confused girl.

To tell the truth, the reason he wasn't accompanying her to camp was because he didn't want anyone, besides Chiron of course, to know she was his daughter. Not yet anyway, it wasn't time. He'd made Natalia promise the night before not to tell anyone who her parents were, no matter what. He didn't know how people would react to a child of the big three and a witch at that. Witches and wizards were known about in the mythological world but they were rare, almost myths themselves. Poseidon still wasn't sure what he would do…he'd have to claim her and Percy eventually.

His daughters sniffle broke him from his thoughts and he turned to give her a hug. "It'll be ok; I'll IM you when I can alright? I love you, and don't forget about your gift. She's already in the stables at camp."

He smiled when he heard her gasp of delight. "Oh yeah, how could I forget? I still have to name her though, I'll think about it on the way. Ok love you too, by daddy!"

The two hugged once more and Poseidon waved as his daughter disappeared from his view, speeding along the ocean floor towards Long Island, NY.

Poseidon turned and went back into the main room in his palace to see Azure sitting on the floor holding a conch shell.

"Hello, Azure, what is it that you're doing with that shell?"

"Oh! Hello Lord Poseidon sir. I'm going to make a conch flute out of this shell. I spoke with one of the freshwater naiads and she said that they often make flutes out of special river stones. There is also a special enchantment that can be placed on naiad flutes that enable them to call forth the power of water similar to that of your children, though only temporarily."

"Interesting, I didn't know about that. Well I'll be going now, can you please tell some of the others to clear out all of Natalia's things. Amphitrite is coming for a short time so we'll have to hide her things like usual. It will be easier this time though since she'll be at camp."

"Yes sir, I'll be right on it sir!" Azure replied, hurrying off to find other naiads to assist her.

Poseidon sighed wearily. He loved Amphitrite, no doubt about it but well she could be a bit…err…..straightforward at times. She would definitely not like the fact that one, Poseidon had broken the pact, and two that he had even been with not one but two other women. Oh well, for now what she did not know could not hurt her. He knew he'd have to tell her eventually. In truth he was surprised that he'd managed to keep it a secret for so long. It helped of course that Amphitrite was often gone, off watching over other waters, and that Triton was gone as well, being messenger of the sea.

He watched now as the naiads busied themselves with hiding all of Natalia's things. Now it would appear to an onlooker (or in this case, his wife) that Natalia had never even existed…perfect.

* * *

Meanwhile Natalia was finally stumbling onto a rocky beach somewhere in New York. She waved goodbye to the hippocampi, smiling slightly as the flicked their tails and dove beneath the surf. Slinging her bags over her shoulder she set off though she honestly had no idea where she was going. Her dad, 'No, just Poseidon', she corrected herself, told her that a satyr would meet her but there were a few problems. First she didn't know where she was supposed to go. Second she had no idea where she was except that she was in the state of New York. And third, she had no idea what a satyr looked like. All she knew was that they were part donkey or sheep or something.

Natalia was broken from her thoughts when she heard a raspy voice behind her, "Natalie Mumblesore?"

She turned to see a middle-aged man with a Yankees baseball cap on staring at her. She noticed that from the waist down he was furry and appeared to have hooves. Ah, must be that satyr he was talking about.

"It's Natalia Dumbledore," she corrected him smiling slightly at his mistake.

"Ah, well you are to come with me, I'll guide you to the camp. By the way my name is Timber."

Natalia nodded and followed the satyr but hesitated slightly as he turned into a dense forest. He turned and beckoned to her so she followed, resting her hand on her dagger. The two continued traipsing through the woods until they reached a clearing and a large hill…Half Blood Hill to be exact.

"Yes here we are let's hurry, don't want to run into any monsters now do we?"

Natalia didn't answer as she figured it was a rhetorical question and hurried up the hill as instructed. The two luckily reached the entrance to camp safely and Natalia gasped as she looked over the demi-god camp. She recognized some of the places as her…Poseidon had described. She saw the Big House, the cabins, the rock climbing wall, the lake, and…yes! The stables!

"Hello Timber, I see you found her."

Natalia turned to see a large white horse that appeared to have the top half of a man. _Must be a centaur…probably that Chiron guy, s_he thought.

"Hello young one, I'm Chiron the head of the camp. You must be Natalia, please follow me," The centaur instructed, confirming her thoughts.

The young girl followed the centaur and watched with wide eyes as he lowered himself into a wheelchair, taking the appearance and a regular man. He wheeled himself into the main room of the Big House and Natalia followed, looking at everything. She saw the door to the infirmary, the door to the basement, and the stairs leading up to the attic where the oracle resided. Chiron rolled himself up to a long table and motioned for her to sit down. She did so; eyes darting to another figure that sat down opposite her on Chiron are other side. This new man had on a stained leopard print button up shirt and had thinning hair that he had slicked back. All in all Natalia didn't like him and she showed her distaste for the man by wrinkling up her nose at him.

"Natalia this is Mr. D the other head of camp. Mr. D this is Natalia Dumbledore, the one Poseidon sent word about," Chiron explained to the man, nudging him.

"Hello yes, yes I'm Mr. D blah, blah, blah. So wonderful to meet you Miss Natasha Davenport," Mr. D mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"It's Natalia Dumbledore…sir," Natalia ground out.

"Yeah sure whatever, don't think you're any more special than the other brats just because Poseidon sent in a good word about you," Mr. D spat out before getting up and stumbling back into the kitchen.

"Please excuse him Natalia, he doesn't really like anyone," Chiron explained with a small smile. "Now then, as previously stated Poseidon sent word of your, ah, situation, for lack of a better word. A half-blood in more ways than one, how peculiar. I don't believe we've ever had a witch here at camp. Fascinating, you'll have to tell me more about it later but for now let's get you settled down. Follow me please."

Chiron directed Natalia to the ring of 12 cabins. He pointed to one near the end of the line. "Cabin number 11, Hermes cabin, will be yours until you are claimed. Yes I do know that you already know who your father is but he explained to me that it is to be kept a secret for now. So that is where you shall stay."

With that Chiron rolled off to gods knows where and Natalia walked up to the cabin. On the door was a caduceus, the symbol of Hermes. She stepped inside and was immediately greeted by an older boy that appeared to be about 3 maybe 4 years older, she couldn't tell.

"Hello you must be the new girl, I'm Luke, the head counselor of Hermes cabin," the boy, Luke, introduced himself. He had blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and was wearing a friendly smirk.

"Nice to meet you Luke, I'm Natalia Dumbledore."

"Cool last name! Here you can have this bed here," Luke smirked wider and motioned to abed in the corner. "Be careful though, your bed is next to Connor's. He's one of the twins, Travis and Connor Stoll, the notorious pranksters of Camp Half-Blood."

"Thanks for the warning, where is everyone by the way?" Natalia asked, motioning around to the empty room.

"Oh they're all at lunch, here come with me, I bet you're hungry."

Natalia nodded her agreement and followed the young son of Hermes to the dining pavilion. The pavilion was packed with screaming, laughing kids. Luke directed her to the Hermes table, the largest and most full one, and the two sat down, piling food on their plates.

"Ok now we have to give some of our food to the gods. Watch me," He instructed, walking up to a large fire and scraping some of his food in. Natalia heard him mutter a short prayer of thanks and then she stepped up as well.

"To Poseidon, love you dad, I miss you. And to Hermes, thanks for letting me stay in your cabin for now."

* * *

Ok I hate the ending but oh well... I will hopefully make the next chapter longer and better.

Read and Review please!

~Phoenix


	4. Earthshaker

Drachmas and Galleons

Part 1

Chapter 4

* * *

Over the next month or so Natalia followed Luke and he helped her train. He taught her how to sword fight, though she still preferred her dagger, and the two paired up for capture the flag. She had enlisted Lee Fletcher of Apollo cabin to assist her in Archery and to help her learn how to heal. Natalia quickly warmed up to the Stoll twins, finding their pranks harmless and hilarious, and occasionally assisted the two. Luke introduced her to his friend Annabeth, a daughter of Athena that was her age. Now they practiced with their daggers together but they didn't get along very well at first.

_Flashback- "Natalia, this is my friend Annabeth Chase. She is a daughter of Athena. Annabeth, this is Natalia Dumbledore, she's unclaimed," Luke introduced the two, the walked off, leaving them to 'bond' as he put it._

"_Who do you think you are?" Annabeth demanded, scowling at Natalia before watching Luke walk away. "He's my best friend; don't think you can steal him from me!"_

"_What? Steal him, what do you mean? I'm unclaimed, he could be my brother for all I know and that's how I feel about him regardless," Natalia explained, lying effortlessly in an attempt to calm the grey eyed girl._

"_Humph, well it's your fault that I can't spend as much time with him. And when we do get a chance to talk it's about you! About how you did that day in training and how well you're progressing! And to think he wants me to help you train with your dagger, hah!" Annabeth exclaimed, still angry._

"_How about I make a deal with you alright? If you help me train with my dagger then I'll tell Luke that I want to try training with someone else to work on my archery and that he should talk to you since you wanted some fighting tips. How about that? Besides, you are one of the best dagger users in the camp," Natalia suggested, adding a bit of flattery at the end._

"_And how do I know you will stay true to your word?" Annabeth asked her fury lessening slightly as she flushed at the praise. "How do I know he will believe you in the first place?"_

"_Oh he will, archery isn't his forte, you should know that! I'll just tell him I want some help from the Apollo cabin or something."_

"_What you aren't a golden girl at archery?" Annabeth replied sarcastically, adding an eye roll for extra effect._

"_Gods no, I can't hit target for my life!" Natalia chuckled. "Ask anyone! Just the other day I nailed a satyr right in the butt, and he was at least 30 feet away from where the target was!"_

_At this Annabeth chuckled as well and sent her a small smile. "Alright Natalia, looks like you got yourself a deal!"_

_Natalia nodded and the two shook hands before going their separate ways. She quickly found Luke and told him the story, suggesting that an Apollo camper would be better suited for the dangerous task of teacher her to use a bow. Luke laughed and agreed much to Natalia's relief and went to find the Apollo cabin._

"_Hey Lee, can I maybe ask you a favor?" Natalia asked the counselor of cabin 7, rubbing her thumb along the handle of her hidden wand. "You know you're one of the best archers in the camp, well I was wondering-"_

"_You want me to help with your archery?" He said, cutting her off and smiling at her._

"_Uh, yeah…" She answered, trailing off and looking at the ground._

"_Well, as dangerous a task as that is, I will admit I am a pretty good archer and thus have the best chance at assisting you in your goal at hitting the target. So yeah, sure!" Lee replied cockily, smirking at her glare. "You know if you keep glaring at me like that I just might reconsider my offer…"_

"_What? No oh uh sorry. Um I'll meet you, uh I have archery on Tuesday so meet me there at 8,'kay? Bye!" Natalia replied, her eyes widening as she ran back to her cabin._

_Lee chuckled and returned to his cabin, watching as she stormed into cabin 11. Natalia threw herself on her bed, scowling and getting a few sideways glances._

"_What's up with you Nat?" the twins said simultaneously, moving to sit beside her on her bed._

"_Lee Fletcher just mocked me because of my archery skills!" She replied furiously._

"_What skills?" Travis joked._

"_Yeah, poor Bren is still in the infirmary getting his tail stitched up!" Connor finished, chuckled and patting her on the back._

"_Shut up!" Natalia shouted before pushing the two off the bed and running out of the cabin as they gave chase._

_End Flashback._

Natalia laughed and shook her head, recalling that day last month. She trained with Annabeth often and learned that the daughter of Athena lived up to her parentage as she was extremely smart. Out of all of their training fights she had only won once because she accidently shoved her into the lake. After that they stopped training by the beach. Lee had already practiced with her many times and she could actually hit the target 4 out of 5 times, though she was nowhere near the bulls-eye. Now they were sitting in the infirmary ad he was showing her the right amounts of nectar and ambrosia to give to people based on the severity of their wounds.

"So you take this much here alright?'' Lee held up a small square of the godly food.

Natalia nodded then picked up a small amount of nectar. "This much nectar right?"

Lee nodded and grinned. "That's enough for today; you're getting pretty good at this healing thing. See you again tomorrow Nat."

"Bye Lee!" Natalia waved and then headed out to the stables.

On her third day here her father spoke to her in a dream telling her to visit the stables in the morning to get her birthday gift. She had almost forgotten and so when he mentioned it she was awake the rest of the night. She probably would have gone then if not for fear of the harpies.

Now she entered the stables, waving to a few of the Demeter kids that were cleaning out the stables, and went over to one of the stables near the back. She smiled when she saw her. The pegasus was the color of snow, bright white and breathtakingly beautiful. Natalia walked up, petting the magical creature and speaking to her in her mind.

'Hey Whitestorm, how are you today?'

'Pretty good my lady, though my day would be better if I got a sugar cube or two,' Whitestorm, the pegasus, suggested.

'Well today's your lucky day!' Natalia announced as she pulled out a sugar cube and feeding it to her.

She didn't even bother correcting the 'my lady' thing. It was just something the Pegasi did and there was no use in telling them to quit. She gave Whitestorm one last pat on the head before leaving the stables and heading outside. She was about to go back to her cabin but noticed a confused looking Chiron ushering her over.

"What's the matter Chiron?"

"Well I just received word from your father. He's going to 'claim you' tonight at the campfire. I've no idea why though, would you have any idea?"

"None, sorry sir I don't know why he'd do that now of all times," Natalia replied, equally confused.

"Well alright, I just figured I'd tell you so you knew. That is all," Chiron said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

Natalia nodded and walked down the steps of the big house pondering over what Chiron told her. '_Why would he decide to claim me now? Why not just claim me right from the start?'_ She thought to herself. She hated doubting her dad, she knew that he knew what he was doing but still! Natalia sighed and shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose to clear her thoughts. There was no use worrying about it, it was going to happen whether she wanted it to or not.

She looked over to the empty cabin 3 by the lake and rubbed her wand nervously. The smooth, yet textured wood comforted her. She would be staying alone, with no one else since there were no other children of Poseidon. She'd miss the noise and laughter of the Hermes cabin, the normal morning arguments and clothes flying across the room. Though she had to admit it would be a relief to not have to fight your way to the bathroom and since she'd be alone she'd get to be the counselor of her cabin. Though it didn't really mean much as she had no one to counsel over.

As she mulled this over she walked over to the lake and sat on a large, flat rock half-way in the water that was warmed by the sun. She pulled off her sneakers and socks, sitting them on the sand behind her and dangled her feet into the cool water. She pulled a pony-tail holder off of her wrist and used it to pull her black hair into a high pony-tail. It was getting really long now, it hung down to her mid-back when it wasn't pulled up, which was most of the time.

Natalia sat by the lake for a few hours, staring at ripples in the water as if in a trance. She finally snapped out of it when she realized it was almost dark and she was getting hungry. Dinner would be soon and after that…the campfire. She pulled back on her socks and shoes, realizing her feet weren't even wet when she pulled them out. She glanced around but luckily no one was around to have noticed. She let out a short breath and ran to the Hermes cabin to get in line. She took her spot near the end and followed her cabin-mates to the dining pavilion. Sitting down she piled food on her plate then got up to go give her sacrifice. When she finally got to the front of the line she shoved in a few pieces of food and murmured a prayer to the gods.

"Thanks again Hermes. And dad, you're claiming me tonight…why?" Natalia asked, knowing her question wouldn't be answered and she'd just have to wait and see.

After everyone got done eating the Apollo cabin led the rest of the campers to the bonfire. After singing a few songs everyone mostly talked amongst themselves. Natalia listened half-heartedly to a conversation between Annabeth and Malcolm, one of her older brothers. She fidgeted and nervously glanced around, waiting for the stunned silence, surprised gasps, and timid glances. She didn't have to wait long and winced slightly when a young boy from the Hephaestus cabin gasped loudly and pointed above her head. An awkward silence ensued and then the whispers began.

'Oh my gods, she got claimed!'

'What sign is that? Whose is she?'

'It's the trident! But no, it can't be!'

'That's the sign of Poseidon! What the Hades, her dad is Poseidon!'

'But he's a Big Three! What about the pact?'

Natalia decided to look up and see what the fuss was about. Floating above her head was a glowing sea green trident. The emblem shimmered and moved as if it was made of water and then slowly began to fade away. She couldn't help herself and grinned widely. Finally she could use her powers! No more hiding and faking it!

"Wait, so that means that you have to move right? You'll have to go to cabin 3," Luke spoke up above the whispers and all eyes turned to him.

Natalia's brow furrowed and she met his concerned gaze. "Yeah I guess so. I don't really want to leave cabin 11 though I guess you guys need the space."

Natalia gave a half smile when she heard the half-joking, half-serious murmurs of agreement from other cabin 11 members. Everyone stopped talking and looked up when Chiron made his way over.

"Now Natalia please come with me, Luke can you please come as well?" Chiron asked though it wasn't really a question as much as a demand.

The two silently got up and walked ahead the Hermes cabin but they heard Chiron speaking behind them. "Hush please, no need to talking. Treat Natalia as you would anyone else is that clear?"

A chorus of 'Yes sir's and 'Yes Chiron's were heard and Chiron followed the two teens.

When they reached the cabin Chiron stood by the door and spoke again. "Ok Natalia, go ahead and gather up your things. Luke if you could help her? I'll be out here and I'll show you where you will be staying from now on Natalia."

Natalia and Luke nodded their agreement and Natalia pulled her suitcase from under her bed. Luke helped empty her drawers and she piled all of her possessions into the small suitcase. She sat on it and Luke zipped it shut for her. She began heading toward the door but Luke held out his hand to stop her.

"Look, Natalia. I know that this means you aren't my sister but just know that if you need anything I here. Ok?"

Natalia smiled widely and hugged him tightly. She pulled away with a happy grin but kept her arms around his neck.

"And even if you aren't my blood I'll still think of you as my brother. I love you like you're family and I trust you. Thank you for being my first friend."

Luke just grinned back at her but had a slightly guilty look in his eye. Natalia ignored it, figuring it was because she was leaving, and the two left the cabin. Chiron nodded and led them to cabin three. Natalia looked up and took in her new home. Cabin three was a long, low cabin that had windows facing the ocean as it sat right on the bay. The outside appeared to be made of a rough sea stone or possibly coral and above the door were a large seashell and a trident. She stepped inside and smiled happily. A light sea breeze seemed to constantly flow through the room and the abalone walls held an ethereal glow. There were bunks lined along the walls and a small door that she guessed led to a bathroom. Next to each bunk was a small chest of drawers and bedside table. Natalia sat her things on a bed near the bathroom with a window next to it.

"It's absolutely perfect!" She gushed and Luke laughed softly at the young girl.

Chiron left at some point, most likely at the camp-fire or up at the Big House with Mr. D. Natalia began unpacking her suitcase and noticed Luke sitting on the bed next to her.

"You can go ahead and go back to the camp-fire if you want. I'm going to take a while to unpack and then I might go sit by the bay," She said ushering him out.

"Are you sure?" He asked quickly.

"Yeah I am, go on. I'll be fine," she said with finality and shook her head after he finally left.

She quickly unpacked her things and changed into pajamas; a dark blue t-shirt and a pair of long black sleep shorts. She opened her window and snickered at her own dumb luck. The back of the cabin was right on the water and on the side that faced the rest of camp was a pier. On her side, the side facing away from camp and straight into the ocean, the water came right up to the structure. Luck was on her side because within jumping distance of her window was a flat rock that looked like it could hold 2, maybe 3 people. She leapt out and landed silently on the balls of her feet. She sat cross legged right on the edge and pulled out her wand.

"Might as well practice," she muttered and began digging through her mind to think of the few spells that she knew and that she could use here without attracting attention.

She didn't really know that many but she figured she was actually well educated for not having been to school.

"Aguamenti," she whispered under her breath and was rewarded by a small stream of water firing out of the tip of her wand.

"Incendio," Natalia jumped a little when a ball of fire shot forth out of her wand and sizzled out when it hit the water.

Pinching the bridge of her nose to calm herself she continues, "Lumos."

A small light formed on the end of Natalia's wand that she found she could dim or brighten based on her focus.

"Orchideous!" Natalia pointed to her hand and smirked when a beautiful stargazer lily appeared in her hand.

Letting out a soft yawn she crawled back through the window and closed in softly. She sat her new flower into a small cup and whispered the aguamenti spell to fill it with water. After arranging the flower she sat it on her bedside table and crawled into bed, yawning again. She used her wand to flick the lights of then stuck it under her pillow and drifted off to sleep.

Over the next few weeks the buzz about Natalia being a daughter of the Big Three died down. Now it was only the occasional backwards glance instead of fingers pointing and other campers not even bothering to hide their obnoxious stares and whispers.

Every day Natalia trained with Lee for healing and archery, Annabeth for sparring and teaching her techniques for fighting with her dagger, and Luke for sword fighting practice. She made sure to visit Whitestorm and also to spend time helping the twins prank. At the end of the day, no matter how wiped out she was she always made sure to sit on her rock. Even though she was the only member in her cabin she still felt better sitting out with the oceans water swirling around her ankles. It helped her feel closer to her dad and her home. Sometimes she also practiced the few spells she knew as well.

Days rolled into weeks and weeks into months with nothing particularly exciting happening. She found herself growing distanced from Luke for unknown reasons though she thought nothing of it. Yes they were close but she figured that he wanted to spend time with campers his own age and not her.

She found her 12th birthday drawing nearer and nearer though she was positive nobody knew. She hadn't told anyone about her birthday since she didn't want to make a big deal about it. Though she also figured the camp could use a bit of excitement. Days were so boring anymore. She didn't want a monster attack or anything but some sort of action would be nice.

That changed one Saturday morning.

"Look, on the hill!"

"Get Chiron!"

"Oh my gods! Hurry! He needs to go to the infirmary!"

Natalia stood on her rock upon hearing the distressed shouts of her fellow campers and scurried back into her room. She grabbed her wand and dagger, making sure that they were secure on her belt and rushed outside. She saw Chiron and nothing short of a mob making its way into the Big House. She watched curious, as Chiron made many of the campers leave. Where was Annabeth? Natalia saw her go in so why wasn't she among the annoyed and concerned campers that were locked outside?

'Oh gods, she's hurt!' That was Natalia's first thought as she rushed to get answers.

"Travis, Connor! What's going on? Where's Annabeth?" Natalia asked the two teens frantically.

"Whoa calm down," Travis began, putting his hand on the younger girls shoulder comfortingly.

"Annabeth's fine. There was some kid on the hill," Conner continued.

"Who fought the Minotaur and he's passed out in the Infirmary. Annabeth and some of the Apollo kids are taking good care of him alright?" Travis finished.

"Whoa the Minotaur…you mean the bull diaper guy with the big horns and crap?" Natalia asked, calming down and a look of concern now on her face.

"Yeah, that's the one, this kid, he looks about your age," Travis started.

"He broke one of its horns off!" Connor finished a look of awe in his eyes.

Natalia was used to them talking like that and nodded. She made her way, pushing through the crowd and up the steps of the Big House.

"Hey," some random kid shouted out. "You can't go in, Chiron kicked us all out!"

Many yells of agreement and agitation were heard from the crowd but Natalia ignored them and stood in front of the door, blocking the handle from their sight. She slid the wand into her sleeve and pointed in at the lock.

"Alohamora," she whispered under her breath and heard the lock click.

She opened the door to the surprise of the others and stuck her wand back in her belt. She shut the door and re-locked it just before the mob charged back up the steps. The main room of the Big House was empty but she heard voices from the infirmary. She walked in and saw Annabeth and Chiron standing in front of a bed. She noticed the Apollo kids hurrying around the room carrying many medical supplies but no one noticed her.

She walked up behind the two in front of the bed and cleared her throat lightly. Annabeth and Chiron jumped and whipped around. Annabeth let out a breath of relief but confusion shown in both her and Chiron's eyes.

Chiron let out a sigh and eyed her warily, "I shouldn't even ask but how on earth did you get in here?"

"I walked through the front door," Natalia said, grinning widely.

She heard Chiron let out a weary sigh and a slight chuckle from her side. It was much too low to be Annabeth so…?

"Ah Natalia, this is Percy Jackson. He actually just woke up, what luck! Percy this is Natalia Dumbledore," Chiron introduced the two.

Annabeth and Chiron both looked suspiciously between them and Natalia could see why. Percy had messy black hair, the exact same shade as hers. She looked into his eyes gasped. He had her eyes and the same sea green eyes as her dad. The both had lightly sun-kissed skin and thin, athletic build.

"Uh, hi," She managed to choke out.

"Hey," He said, clearing his throat and wincing slightly as he gave a slight wave.

"Holy shi-"

"Ehem, well Introductions over, this is rather suspicious," Chiron cut in before she could finish, giving her the 'Chiron-Look'.

"Uh Chiron, they're practically twins!" Annabeth said, pointing out what everyone was thinking, no matter how obvious.

Natalia and Percy continued staring at each other slightly suspicious and Chiron scratched his chin.

"Yes they do, don't they?" He asked rhetorically. "Well aside from that, Percy! You will probably need to stay in here for a few more days while you heal. Annabeth will explain things to you and answer and questions you have. Whenever you get out she will show you cabin 11, where you will be staying until you're claimed. Now come, Natalia, Let's go before the other campers break down my door."

Chiron pulled Natalia away from her staring contest and dragged her out to the main room.

"Chiron," Natalia began but he cut her off.

"Look, I don't know what is going on but trust me, I know this camp. People will talk, rumors will spread, I'm sure you know how it is. We will just have to wait until he is claimed. I'm sure there will be much talk up until that time," Chiron explained. "For now, let's not jump to conclusions alright?"

Natalia could only nod her consent and Chiron smiled.

"Ok, now let's get through this mob and on to lunch! I'm starved!"

Natalia gave a half smile at the centaurs mood swing and followed him out the door. As soon as the door opened many campers began shouting questions but Chiron silenced them with a stern look, what Natalia called the 'Chiron-look'.

"Ok campers; let's head to dinner early alright?" Chiron asked though his tone made no room for argument.

The campers grumbled though no one spoke out and the ground made their way to the dining pavilion. Chiron instructed a few of the satyrs and nymphs to round up the few campers who were going about their normal activities instead of waiting for the latest gossip. Natalia sat down at the Poseidon table, still not exactly used to being the only person eating alone, and piled food on her plate. She made her way up to the fire and waited her turn. She listened to the many whispers and laughed to herself silently as she heard a few of the rumors. When she reached the front of the line she pushed a few spoonfuls of food into the fire and bowed her head, murmuring softly.

"Dad, I'm confused. Why does this new boy Percy look so much like you and me? Is he yours? Or maybe he's a relative on mom's side. Please, I have to know."

Natalia's eyes widened as she heard her dad's voice echoing in her mind. "Natalia, I cannot stress how important it is that you not tell anyone, do you understand? But yes, Perseus Jackson is my son."

"But dad, how can he be my half-brother? We're nearly the same age, or at least it looks it. I don't understand."

"I'm sorry Natalia, I didn't wish for this to happen though I knew in the back of my mind your meeting was inevitable," Natalia heard her dad sigh. "I was with Percy's mother, Sally Jackson, at the same time as I was with your mother. I'm sorry Natalia, but please understand, they both kne-"

"How could you?" Natalia whispered, cutting off Poseidon, confusion and hurt evident in her tone. "How could you do that to my mother? And Percy's mom too? That's terrible. Goodbye."

Natalia quickly walked away from the glowing fire and sat at her table. How could he do that? And then try to give her excuses! Natalia felt extremely sorry both for her mother and Percy's. Did they even know?

"Hey Nat," Natalia looked up, wiping away a tear that was threating to fall and saw Annabeth and Luke standing next to her. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, nothing that can be fixed now. Don't worry about me. You guys shouldn't be here though go ahead at go back to your tables," Natalia managed to get out, staring up at her two closest friends.

Annabeth sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Natalia, don't give us that. I'm a daughter of Athena. I know something's wrong."

"Yeah c'mon, just tell us. It'll be ok," Luke added smiling.

"No, it won't be ok. I'm sorry, I really wanna tell you guys, I do, but I can't. I- I promised. I won't break a promise, no matter how big of a mistake it might be," Natalia spat out the end, her voice full of venom.

"Well, if you're sure," Annabeth said, giving her a look that told Natalia that she didn't believe her at all. "I guess I'll just go back. Just know that I'll be here for you to talk to ok?"

"Thanks Annabeth," Natalia replied, giving the grey-eyed girl a small wave.

"Ok Natalia look at me," Luke said, drawing her attention to the boy sitting beside her. "Annabeth might have believed that crap story but I don't. Seriously what is it? You stood up at the fire forever; a few people thought you were sleeping on your feet or something. It's something to do with your dad isn't it?"

Natalia laughed at how easy he read her. "Yes it has to do with my dad but it's the past. I can't fix his stupid mistakes."

"So it is all Poseidon's fault. See Natalia the gods make mistakes too, they have problems. He made you upset, I hate seeing you upset. You don't need him Nat, he doesn't deserve to be your father," Luke explained, a fierce tone in his voice that Natalia had never heard before. "He doesn't deserve you. I don't know what he did but it must be pretty bad to get you this worked up. I know you, you never cry. Ever! So I blame him. I blame the gods."

Natalia looked up at Luke and shivered slightly. His face, his expression scared her. She'd never seen it before. He'd always been happy, smiling or smirking and having a happy glint in his eye. This Luke, this one was different. A gleam of malice in his eye, a tone of loathing and finality in his voice. This Luke was new to her. This Luke scared her.

"Well I don't," Natalia replied strongly, though she was shaking on the inside. "Yeah I suppose he made a mistake, one that he shouldn't have. But if he hadn't then it could change everything, and not for the better."

'_I might not even be here,_' she thought to herself.

"How can you say that?" Luke replied fiercely, drawing a few surprised glances from other tables. "It's still his fault, and I bet he doesn't even care that you're upset. The gods are all like that, they don't care about us!"

Thunder rumbled slightly and a breeze blew through the pavilion causing many campers to look anxiously at the sky. The breeze held a salty tang to it that Natalia recognized immediately, making her more homesick then ever but she also realized the meaning.

"No Luke, my dad does care about me ok? I really don't want to fight with you but you should stop criticizing them before it gets us all in trouble. My dad does care and he's sorry for what he did. And you know what?" Natalia demanded, glaring heatedly at him. "I forgive him! So you can just go back to your table and LEAVE ME ALONE!"

At her final words the earth shook, causing a few girls to shriek and plates to fall on the ground. A strong sea breeze blew through, tousling Natalia's hair adding to her look of fury. She and Luke stood nose to nose with all eyes on them, her eyes holding fury and betrayal, his previous look of disgust and malice replaced by denial and guilt.

"You know what Natalia?" Luke responded, backing away. "Fine, I'm done. I'm done with this; I'm done with you, so just forget it. I don't know why I was ever friends with you, you're terrible. This friendship is over, and I'm glad."

Natalia watched, guilty as he stalked off towards the Hermes cabin, leaving his food uneaten. The other campers sat, transfixed by the scene and watching, waiting to see what she would do. Natalia stood stock still, willing herself to keep a calm mask upon her face. Only her sea-green eyes revealed her hurt at what he said and her guilt at her own actions. She quickly turned on her heel and walked calmly toward cabin 3. As soon as they thought she was out of earshot (which she wasn't) whispers broke out. Everyone knew that they were good friends; in fact they were practically inseparable. But they also knew that both Natalia and Luke were stubborn and wouldn't easily give in. Nor would either show their true feelings.

Natalia hurriedly made her way inside and popped open her window. She climbed out and sat on her rock, staring out at the water. What just happened? Even though she was alone now the tears still didn't fall. Natalia knew she wasn't really an emotional person in general and no matter what happened the tears wouldn't fall. However she did drop her perfectly perfected mask of call, her eyebrows scrunching and her lips twisting into a small frown.

"Help me," She whispered her lips barely moving. "Dad please, help me."

'_Natalia, I'm sorry,_' her father's voice echoed in her skull. '_For now you must go with the tide. Eventually the waves will even out and everything will be ok. Patience my child, patience.'_

With those final words his voice faded out and Natalia let out a sigh. Why must her father always speak in riddles? But she still got the meaning, she had to wait. Unfortunately patience was not her strong point.

Rubbing her wand handle anxiously she crawled back into her room and then laid on her bed. She didn't know how long she laid there but she couldn't sleep. Her mind was racing with what felt like millions of questions.

'_What was going to happen?'_

'_Were she and Luke going to be ok?'_

'_Why was Luke so Hades bent on trying to turn Natalia against her father?'_

And:

'_Who exactly was Perseus Jackson?'_

* * *

Hope you liked it! 12 pages on word to hopefully make up for the short last chapter. I didn't really like the way it ended but if I kept going on it would've been way too long. Thanks to everyone who added Drachmas and Galleons to their favorites and story alerts and special thanks to all of my reviewers! And of course thank you to all of the silent readers out there!

Read and Review please!

~Phoenix


	5. Quests and Consiquences

Drachmas and Galleons

Part 1

Chapter 5

* * *

Over the next week Natalia kept a close eye on Percy and she could tell he was watching her as well. She could also feel another stare burning into her back and she knew it was Luke, she could just tell. She also knew that he was getting buddy-buddy with Percy and it left a feeling of dread in her stomach. Her 12th birthday passed silently, only receiving a beautiful red shell from her father and a seahorse statue made of mother-of-pearl from everyone else at her father's palace.

One day Whitestorm, her pegasus, gave her a useful tidbit of information. Percy could also speak to the pegasi in his mind. Natalia always thought she was the only one but it must be a child of Poseidon thing. Before, since she didn't know any other demi-god children of Poseidon, she thought it might be because she was also a witch. For the most part she had the same qualities as a normal demi-god. However, because of her magical blood though she didn't have dyslexia which she was thankful for. She didn't really have ADHD either though she knew she was more observant and jumpy that a normal person.

Once, Poseidon had told her that she was one of the only demi-god witches ever to have existed. He said that the last one that was well-known in either world was hundreds of years ago. Apparently one of the founders of Hogwarts, Rowena Ravenclaw, was a daughter of Athena.

The days progressed in much the same fashion and when Friday, the day for capture the flag, finally rolled around Natalia was practically buzzing with anticipation for a good fight. She got put on the blue team, the team led by the Athena cabin. The other team, the red team, was led by the Ares cabin. Both cabins were skilled when it came to fighting and tactics so it would definitely be a good match. The Hermes cabin was also on the blue team and Natalia wasn't sure whether it was good or bad.

"Ok here's the plan," Annabeth, the decided captain, began giving everyone instructions.

"Natalia, you will be by the creek obviously. Percy you can stay with her," Annabeth instructed when she reached the two.

Percy looked confused and spoke up. "Why am I by the creek? Is that because the freaky toilet incident with Clarisse because I have no idea how that happened."

Natalia snickered at the memory of Clarisse's enraged face but was silence by Annabeth's glare and annoyed sigh. "No, I'm putting you with Natalia because I know she can take care of both of you since you have almost zero fighting experience."

Percy opened his mouth to argue but Natalia butted in, sensing a fight. "Ok, Jackson is with me. Don't worry Perseus, I got it covered."

"Percy, not Perseus, Percy ok?" Percy asked, glaring.

"Whatever Jackson," Natalia replied, lazily examining her nails while whistling innocently.

Percy silently fumed beside her and Annabeth rolled her eyes, calling them immature and walked off. Natalia and Percy called out; "Am not!" and she shot them an, 'I-told-you-so,' look. The two huffed before getting in position beside the creek bank.

"Look, _Percy_, I can take most of them but since you decided to mess with Clarisse the entire Ares cabin will most likely be over here trying to decapitate you. I'll cover this are over here on the left, the part where they will be focused since it's the shallowest and the flag is right beyond the other side. You will stand over on this right side and try and hold of the others. Got it?" Natalia instructed standing in a defensive stance as the conch horn blew.

"Wait, by right and left do you mean on the same side of the creek or do you mean the opposite banks?"

"Same side of the creek genius," Natalia shot back, her eyes narrowing when she heard the metallic clangs of swords hitting each other. "Now get your sword ready!"

Percy nodded and help up his sword, swallowing nervously. His eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat when he looked back at Natalia to see her fighting an Ares kid. Her dagger, moving faster than light was barely able to block the blows from her opponent's sword.

She continued fighting hard and shot a glance at Percy, noticing Clarisse and a few more Ares kids sneaking up behind him. "JACKSON! BEHIND YOU!"

Percy whipped around and immediately began fighting with some guy who looked like he could be a professional line-backer for the NFL. Clarisse watched with a smirk on her face as she lazily twirled her electric spear.

Natalia continued fighting with Eli, a son of Ares, and managed to shove him into the creek. She quickly forced the water to wrap around him and threw him far down the creek. She turned and immediately got into a fight with Zahra, a young daughter or Ares. She fought with a dagger so the fight was more evenly matched. Zahra, though 3 years younger than Natalia was a good head taller. Natalia however was now standing ankle deep in the creek water, boosting her stamina, speed, and power. The daggers clashed and fists were added to the mix, Zahra fighting with her size and brute force, while Natalia went for a more defensive pose. She smirked as she managed to draw Zahra back, deeper into the water and clenched her hand. The water that she raised around Zahra's knees froze and the girl flailed, trying to regain her balance. Natalia quickly took her distraction to her advantage and knocked the dagger out of her hand.

"See ya!" Natalia waved innocently before melting the ice and causing a flood of water to rise up and sweep Zahra downstream.

She stretched out her sore arms, knowing she would be heavily bruised. She turned and let out a yelp as a net flew over her head. Trevor, yet another child of Ares, stood over her watching as she attempted to slash at the net with her dagger.

"Those be steel cables, enforced with iron welded at the crosses. Sorry darlin' but ain't gettin' out of there any time soon," he chuckled at her scowl and turned to join the NFL line-backer and Clarisse, who decided to get revenge against Percy.

Natalia continued wiggling under the net but her eyes were now focused on Percy who was getting his godly butt kicked. She watched as Clarisse stabbed at him with her spear and winced as she saw blood falling onto the ground. She stabbed at him again and just as Natalia noticed Annabeth running into the clearing he fell back into the creek. Her eyes widened as she noticed that the water wasn't turning red. Why wasn't the water turning red? He was clearly bleeding! Wait, duh! Natalia watched in awe as he raised his sword and proceeded to knock down all three Ares kids with a renewed strength.

She heard cheering from behind her and shouts of joy. Their team had won! Percy walked over and helped her out of the net, leaning in and whispering in her ear.

"Good job of covering things."

She scowled at him but couldn't help but smile at her half-brother.

"Chiron, you have to see this!" The two were broke out of their stare as Annabeth came, pulling Chiron towards them.

"What is it dear?"

"Watch!" Chiron opened his mouth to scold Annabeth when she sliced her dagger, creating a line of red on Percy's arm, but closed in when she shoved him into the creek.

Percy stood from the water and the line of blood had vanished. He was glaring at Annabeth and began yelling at her but stopped when Chiron, Annabeth, and about 20 other campers who were watching gasped.

"What?" He asked, looking behind him.

He turned to look at Natalia whose eyes held a knowing look and noticed that she and everyone else were gazing above him in awe. He looked up and scrunched his brow.

"What's that?" he asked, motioning to the floating sea green trident above his head.

"Percy Jackson, you have been claimed. You are a son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, the creator of horses, and the earthshaker."

The other campers began clapping and stared at him in awe.

Natalia however scowled jokingly, placing her hands on her hips. "What? He gets applause and this totally awesome introduction thing and all I got was weirded out stares and pointed fingers? I'm offended!"

Many of the campers chuckled and rolled their eyes. Percy turned to Natalia, confused but everything grew silent when a feral growl was heard. Everyone held up their weapons, eyes trained on a group of trees from which the growl was heard. Chiron readied his bow and reared up slightly when out of the trees stepped a large black dog like creature.

"Chiron," Natalia whispered so as not to direct the attention of the beast. "What is that thing?"

"That Natalia," Chiron replied, many of the other campers listening to his answer. "Is a Hellhound."

The hellhound let out a massive roar and locked its eyes on Percy. It charged and leapt, aiming its claws at his face. The archers in the group released their arrows but only a few managed to scrape the beast. Percy jumped out of the way at the last minute and the hellhound's claws slashed against his armor.

"Percy, get in the creek!" Annabeth shouted out.

None of the campers neared the beast, their daggers and swords miniscule in comparison to the hound's claws and fangs. Archers continued firing at it but none of their arrows seemed to hurt it at all. Chiron called out orders to some of the campers and they ran off to do whatever he asked. Natalia watched transfixed as Percy continued to just barely dodge the hellhound as he tried to get to water.

"Here!" She called out and held out her hands.

The water in the lake rose under her command and she flung it towards Percy. He was immediately drenched as was the hellhound. The hound growled in annoyance and shifted its gaze to Natalia however it did not attack her. It switched its attention back to Percy who was now slashing at it with renewed energy. Everyone gasped as the hellhound grabbed Percy's sword between its teeth and snapped it in half. A few campers prepared to charge into battle but froze as Percy finally managed to step into the creek. He held out his hands and waited, watching the hellhound. It locked its gaze back on Percy and leapt at him. Percy thrust his hands forward and water surged up, knocking the hellhound into a rock. The water continued twisting around it and swirled quickly picking up the hellhound once more and throwing the now limp body at a tree. The trunk splintered under the force and the hellhound exploded in a shower of gold dust. Percy looked slightly light-headed and Luke rushed out of nowhere to catch him before his knee's buckled. No one seemed to wonder when and where Luke had come from but they all followed as he carried Percy towards Chiron. Chiron then took him and carried him the rest of the way to camp. Everyone followed behind but dispersed as Chiron sent everyone off.

"Counselors, I will be holding a meeting. Meet in the Big House in an hour."

The counselors nodded before heading back to their cabins with the rest of the campers. Natalia went back to cabin three and sat on her bed, thinking hard. She knew that the woods were stocked full of monsters but she doubted the Chiron would keep a hellhound there. She didn't think that he'd keep anything too difficult but perhaps there were a few in the deeper parts off the woods and one got drawn out by all of the noise.

Natalia was brought out of her musing when she realized something. Percy would be moving into her cabin. Oh crap. She looked around and cringed, you could hardly see the floor and there were singe marks on the walls. How the heck did that happen? Every week she managed to get the cabin looking spotless for inspection yet by the end of the week it was always a wreck again. She sighed as she began on a most dangerous and perilous task: The search for the floor.

By the time said floor was found and the abalone walls were shining it had been half an hour. She still had another half hour to before she went to the Big House for the meeting but she needed it. She looked down and noticed that she was still in her blood stained and slashed up clothes from capture the flag so she grabbed fresh clothes and headed for the bathroom.

One shower and a dark green shirt with black cargo shorts and sneakers later she was ready. She grabbed Hurricane and her want, stuck both in her belt/holster and jogged up to the Big House. Standing outside she saw the other head counselors: Katie Gardner from cabin 4, Clarisse from cabin 5, Annabeth from cabin 6, Lee from 7, Charles Beckendorf from 9, Silena Beauregard from 10, Luke from 11, and Castor from 12. Natalia went to stand between Lee and Athena and waited with the others for Chiron to call them in.

"Everyone come inside, we have much to discuss."

The campers filed in and sat around an oblong table. Natalia noticed Percy seated beside Chiron and wondered why he was sitting in on the meeting.

Chiron cleared his throat and began speaking. "As I said before we have much to discuss. The first topic of discussion will be about the hellhound. Hellhounds cannot enter the camp's magical boundaries so that means that one of two things happens. Neither is good. For the hellhound to have gotten in someone inside camp would have either had to call it in or let it through the boundary."

Natalia heard many gasps and she let in a sharp intake of breath. The room was silent as people processed this new information.

After a few moments Chiron continued. "Though it could have been meant as a prank it still put the lives of campers in danger and thus requires punishment. I also took notice that the hellhound only went after Percy. This could be vital information when it comes to deciding who is to blame."

As he said this many pairs of eyes flew to Clarisse. Her eyes narrowed as she met the suspicious glances and attempted to defend herself. "I know you all think it's me but I didn't do it. I do hate the twerp for humiliating me but I wouldn't let in a hellhound. I may love fighting and stuff but even I wouldn't want to face a hellhound."

"Yeah but still think about it. No offense but honestly who has a personal vendetta against Percy? Now I'm not saying it's Clarisse but that's where the evidence is pointing, to her or another member of the Ares cabin perhaps," Luke pointed out.

Annabeth, always the logical thinking, cut in. "But who ever let the hellhound in is a camper. They also are probably pretty smart. That means that they could have set it up to make everyone blame Clarisse and the Ares kids because they knew that's what would happen."

"You're right; they would have to be smart. So how do we know it isn't an Athena camper? You guys are geniuses. You would be able to find out how to let one in and then how to lay the blame on someone else!" Charles suggested.

"Charlie I know all of my campers. I trust them and I know for a fact it wasn't any of them," Annabeth replied heatedly glaring at him.

At this Charlie held up his hands in a surrendering motion. "I'm not saying any of the Athena kids did it because I don't think they did I'm just trying to point out all of the possible angles."

Annabeth nodded, relaxing and tapping her chin in a thoughtful manner.

"Well, while everyone is contemplating that I'll introduce the next topic of discussion," Chiron stated. "This may come as a shock to you all but Zeus's master bolt…his master bold has been stolen."

Everyone stared in shock at the centaur as he continued.

"And, it has been decided that a quest shall be given. Percy Jackson will lead this quest. Before you arrived he went upstairs and received the prophecy from the oracle. Percy, if you will?" All eyes turned to Percy who rubbed the back of his neck nervously before reciting the given prophecy.

"_You shall go west, and face the god who has turned,_

_You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned,_

_You shall be betrayed by one, who calls you a friend,_

_And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end."_

"So what does this mean?" Annabeth was the first to ask. "Obviously he has to go west but we are on the east coast so that could mean pretty much anywhere in the entire US. The stolen item is the master bolt and I guess that means that he'll get it back safely. Betrayed by a friend, well it's probably whoever let in the hellhound wouldn't you think? And the last line, well I don't like the last line at all."

"We need to decide who will be taken on this quest. Odd numbers are of course the best options for quests but we also don't want to take to many or not enough to get the job done. As I said an odd number would be best though it doesn't have to be. A few of the biggest quests in camp history were even numbered groups and they all succeeded in their goals," Chiron explained.

"I want to go," Annabeth immediately called out. "I'm a good fighter and plus he'll need brains right?"

Percy scowled slightly but nodded his consent. "I think that would be a good idea. I also want to take Grover."

"You're taking a satyr instead of another demi-god? Are you insane?" Clarisse shouted out.

Chiron silenced Clarisse and turned to Percy. "I find that an appropriate team. You shall leave in the morning. Counselors dismissed, oh and Percy, get Natalia to show you your new cabin ok?

Percy nodded and turned to follow Natalia and the rest of the campers out.

"And sleep well!" Chiron called out just before the two stepped out.

Natalia led Percy to cabin three and opened the door, motioning for him to step in. Natalia noticed that his bags were already sitting on a bed beside hers, probably the Hermes kids' doing. Natalia flopped down on her bed, sitting her wand and dagger on her bedside table. After Percy finished putting his things away he sat and eyed her wand.

"What's that stick thing?" Percy asked, not having seen it before.

"Oh yeah, I guess no one's told you yet. It's a wand; I don't really use much though since I don't know many spells."

"A wand, like as in a magic wand? Like a magician or something?"

"Ha, no like as in witches and wizards," Natalia replied, chuckling at Percy's mask of confusion.

"Those are real too? Anything else I need to know about? Gods, witches, wizards…what about aliens?" Percy asked sarcastically.

"Who knows?" Natalia asked, mysteriously.

"So…you're my sister?"

"Kinda, we're half siblings. We have the same dad, Poseidon, but not the same mom."

"Oh…so wait, we're the same age so how…?" Percy wondered, trailing off.

Natalia frowned but answered. "Our dad, he, well he was with your mom and my mom at the same time…"

"What? Why would he do that? My mom's so nice, and he just left us! I got stuck with Gabe!" Percy fumed.

"Yeah I know, I was mad when I found out too. Who's Gabe?"

"Ugh, my step-dad, he's horrible. I hate him; he's rude to me and my mom. And now my mom's in the underworld or something and he doesn't know or probably even care that she's missing!"

"Oh my gods Percy I'm so sorry. I didn't know your mom was dead!"

"No, she's not dead, the Minotaur took her. Apparently some Hades guy is holding her captive, which is why I got chosen to lead the quest. Well, that and Zeus thinks I'm the one who stole his bolt," Percy explained, still scowling.

"Don't worry, Annabeth's a great fighter and from what I've seen so are you. I don't know much about this Grover guy but some satyrs have some pretty cool tricks up their sleeves. You'll get her back, I'm sure of it," Natalia reassured him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks, I really hope so. I have a question though; if you're half witch does that mean your mom is a witch?"

"Was, she was a witch, she died before I was even a year old," Natalia replied, staring at her feet.

"Oh sorry, so who'd you live with? Was it a step-dad, distant relative, or at an orphanage?" Percy asked, then realizing his mistake added, "I mean, it's not really my place but…"

"It's alright, you're curious," Natalia cut him off, "I lived with our dad until he sent me to camp about half a year ago."

"Wait…you lived with our dad?" Percy demanded, glaring at her. "I got stuck living with Smelly Gabe and you get to live with our dad in some super cool under sea palace?"

"Percy, I-"

"No, just shut up! It's not fair! Why? Why would dad do that?" Percy began shaking and stood. "I hated my life; living with Gabe was so horrible. And, no matter what he did to her or me my mom refused to leave him! Why? He abused us, physically and verbally! And she stayed with him! She didn't even love him! Dad could've had us live with you too!"

"No, Percy, you don't understand," Natalia began, standing as well.

"The hell I don't!" Percy shouted, a lone tear running down his face. "It's just not fair! This is all your fault! If you hadn't been born maybe he would've let us live with him instead. I HATE YOU!"

"Percy…" Natalia whispered, her eyes looking up at him pleadingly. "Please, don't say that, just hear me out."

"Why should I? It's your fault that my mom's stuck in the underworld now too! She could be dead for all I know and it's all your fault!" Percy screamed.

"I'm sorry, it is my fault," Natalia responded, bowing her head.

"YES IT IS, HOW CAN YOU…" Percy trailed off when he realized what she said. "Wait, what?"

"I said that it is my fault. Maybe if I wasn't here your mom would be safe but you know what Percy?" Natalia asked, looking up with determination glinting in her eyes. "Maybe not, maybe it's supposed to be like this. The fates control it all, it was supposed to happen. As much as you don't want to believe it this all happened for a reason."

"How can something like that happen on purpose?" Percy asked, calming down. "Why?"

"I don't know why Percy, but it's something I ask myself every day," Natalia answered before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the window. "Let me show you something."

Percy remained silent and watched as Natalia pushed open the window and began to crawl through. He followed and his eyes widened when he landed on a flat rock. He sat down beside his sister and stared out at the bay.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Natalia asked. "I sit out here every night. Sometimes to think, sometimes to practice spells, and sometimes just to get away."

"Yeah, thanks. Uh can you maybe show me some spells?"

"Sure, one second."

Natalia returned to her seat beside him with her wand and held it out.

"I have some books of spells; many are really advanced so I practice every day. I finally got this one, it makes birds! Avis!"

A small flock or bluebirds flew out of her wand and fluttered around their heads, causing Percy to chuckle.

"That's cool, what else can you do?"

"Well, a lot of the spells are offensive and I really don't want to hurt anybody so I haven't tried many of them. I have a whole book full of jinxes and hexes though, I use them when I prank people sometimes. Once I gave Drew, one of the younger Aphrodite kids, antlers!"

"I bet she freaked, from what I've seen the Aphrodite kids are obsessive about their appearances," Percy said laughing.

"Oh she did, it was great! And no one saw that it was me since I placed a charm called the disillusionment charm. For the most part it makes me invisible," Natalia explained, joining in his laughter.

The two continued talking up until dinner when Natalia realized something. "Hey Percy, how old are you, like when is your birthday?"

"I'm twelve, I turned twelve on August 18th," Percy answered. "What about you?"

"Awww…my birthday was on August 22nd. Four days! Ugh so close! Well you're still older so that means that now you're the head counselor now," Natalia grumbled.

"What's that mean?" Percy asked.

"Being head counselor means that you're in charge of our cabin. You have to do cabin inspections and go to meetings and war counsels. You know that meeting at the Big House we came from? That was all the other head counselors," Natalia explained, falling behind Percy and pushing him out the door. "It also means that you get to lead our cabin to dinner so lead the way, I'm starved!"

"Wait, so I can tell you what to do?" Percy asked, smirking.

"Technically yes but don't try anything stupid Jackson. And you're only older by four days plus I've been here longer so if you need to know anything I'm your girl."

"Ok, sure. Wow though, four days…" Percy muttered.

"Tell me about it," Natalia replied, rolling her eyes.

The two sat down at table 3 and began filling their plates. They made their way through the line to give their offering and sat back down to begin eating.

"Wow, feels weird not being the only one here," Natalia observed grinning. "I liked it better that way."

"Hey, you shouldn't be so rude to your seniors," Percy mock scolded her, grinning as well. "Right _little sis_?"

"Shut. Your. Face," Natalia replied, punctuating each word with a stab of her fork to her macaroni.

Percy just laughed.

* * *

Whoa, is it the end of chapter 5 already? I'm going to apologize ahead of time for this super long note. Ok, so I have a question: When should Natalia go to Hogwarts?

I was contemplating this with my friend and we think during 'The Titan's Curse' and 'The Goblet of Fire' but I want to know what you guys think. I know some of you will be upset that Natalia isn't going on the quest but I don't want her to steal the show from Percy as he is still the main character. She will still play a role in the main plot though so don't worry it won't be totally boring for her.

As for the HP world, another question for you guys (please bear with me here): When Natalia goes to Hogwarts I have a few ideas for the plot but I want your opinion:

Option 1) she will be in Gryffindor and be bff's with the Golden Trio

2) She will be in Slytherin and go to the dark side with Malfoy, Voldie, etc.

3) She will be in Ravenclaw and either end up friends with Malfoy, Zabini, etc. but get sucked up in the Golden Trio's adventures unwillingly or be a loner that gets into each sides problems.

4) And finally she will be in Slytherin but she'll be friends with both the Slytherins and the Gryffindors thus stirring up drama.

I do kind of have a base plan but the HP part won't be for a while probably and I want to know what you guys want. If I get enough votes then I'll just do a majority rules thing so review/PM me with what you want to happen!

Thanks to all those who added this story and me as an author to your alerts and favorites! Read and review please because reviews are better than being attacked by a hellhound!

~Phoenix


	6. Scorpion Attacks and SpongeBob

Drachmas and Galleons

Part 1

Chapter 6

* * *

"They're back! Look they're back!"

Natalie looked up from polishing her dagger when she heard the first shouts. She grinned and ran out of her cabin to see Percy, Annabeth, and Grover stumbling down Half-Blood Hill.

"Perseus Jackson, I never want to see you on the news ever again ok? I thought you were trying to freaking commit suicide or something! For a big brother you're a terrible role model," Natalia chastised him before hugging him tightly.

"Sorry," Percy muttered, hugging her back half-heartedly.

"Hey Mr. Grumpy-Gills, what's wrong?" Natalia asked concerned, stepping back to check for injuries.

"My mom, she's the thing I lost. I had to leave her in the underworld," Percy whispered sadly.

"What? Oh, Percy…" Natalia trailed off.

"Ah, you're back!" The two turned to see Chiron watching them with happiness dancing in his eyes. "I have good news for you Percy, your mom. She's ok. Hades sent her back when he got his helm back."

"Really?" Percy asked hopefully.

Chiron nodded and led Annabeth and Grover into the Big House. "I'll let you catch up for a few minutes then I need you in the Big House for all the details alright?"

The two nodded and then Natalia turned to Percy with her arms folded. "Details. Now."

Percy raised an eyebrow and nodded when she added a feeble "please".

"Well," He began but was cut off when Luke approached.

"What are you doing here? Didn't you use my flying shoes?"

"No, I gave them to…hey you knew those shoes were going to do that didn't you! What the Hades Luke?" Percy fumed.

Luke chuckled darkly the looked around for any eavesdroppers. The hill was surprisingly clear, everybody else grilling Annabeth and Grover for details and trying to get into the Big House, so he began speaking in a low voice.

"Of course I did! Who did you think stole the bolt in the first place? And the Helm? Who do you think let in the hellhound that attacked you? It was me, all me. I did it for Kronos," Luke confessed while grinning madly. "And now I'm going to kill you both so no one will know until it's too late."

He clapped once and the siblings turned to see a humongous scorpion charging up the other side of the hill. "Goodbye children of Poseidon."

He then strolled casually off into the woods but the two didn't notice until it was too late and the scorpion attacked.

"Help! Chiron, Lee, Travis, Connor, Annabeth, anyone, up here on the hill!" Natalia screamed out before pulling out her dagger.

Percy pulled out a pen and clicked it, causing a three foot long Celestial Bronze sword to appear. Natalia stared at it wide eyed before the two attacked the scorpion. Natalia dove to the left and Percy dove to the right, narrowly avoiding the scorpion's tail and sharp stinger. Natalia stabbed at one of its legs while Percy slashed at its head. The scorpion let out an angry hiss and swung it's stinger at Percy's head. He managed to duck and stabbed his sword upward, causing the scorpion to hiss again. Natalia rolled underneath it and stabbed upward, slashing into its belly. She let out a disgusted groan as scorpion blood splashed onto her arm. She made the move to roll out from under it but her dagger got stuck in the insect's armor.

"Watch out!" Percy shouted out.

Natalia threw herself out from under the monster, abandoning her dagger before the scorpion threw its body downward. She glared at the beast and pulled out her wand.

"Aqua Eructo!" She shouted out, shooting a large jet of water into the insects face.

It let out an annoyed hiss and swung its tail around vigorously. Natalia gasped when she heard Percy cry out in pain. He fell to the ground in the fetal position and Natalia ran to him, covering him.

"Protago!"

A glowing shield materialized and barely managed to stop the scorpion from stinging the two again. Natalia cringed as the tail swung down again and waiting for the sharp pain. She continued waiting and looked up in surprise when she saw the large scorpion burst into a shower of gold dust. Standing in the middle of the dust was Clarisse, holding her spear and staring at her annoyed.

"Well, c'mon we don't have all day. We need to get him to Chiron, scorpions are poisonous you know."

Natalia held her tongue and Clarisse helped her carry Percy down to the Big House. By the time they reached the infirmary Percy was unconscious and his clothes were almost completely blood stained.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry. I didn't hear your call until it was too late. Now, we need ambrosia and nectar," Chiron apologized before instructing the Apollo children who were working in the infirmary.

An older girl rushed over holding squares of ambrosia and a cup full of nectar. She sat them down on the table beside the bed and rushed off to get more supplies.

"So tell me, what happened?" Chiron asked her while people ran around them in the effort to heal Percy.

"It was Luke," Natalia growled. "I can't believe it…"

"The Castellan boy, the son of Hermes? I wonder why he would do such a thing."

"He said he did it for someone. Kronos I think he said," Natalia elaborated. "He said he stole the bolt and some sort of helm for this Kronos guy."

"Ah yes. Percy didn't get to tell you his story did he? Well I'll let him when he comes around since I don't even know the full story. So Kronos you say? That's not good at all…" Chiron replied.

"Isn't he the titan guy? Like the father of the gods?"

"Yes, that's him. He's supposed to be in Tartarus though. So how?" Chiron asked, standing. "Hmm, I need to go see to a few things. Stay here until Percy comes around. It should be anytime now, it seems he's almost done healing."

Natalia nodded and turned back to Percy. Sometime during her conversation with Chiron Clarisse must have left but she didn't care. She'd thank her later. Reaching down to her belt she realized that her dagger was gone. It was probably still on the hill. Turning to face her half-brother a familiar glint of metal caught her eye.

'It looks like I have yet another thing to thank Clarisse for,' she thought to herself as she picked up her dagger and placed it back in its holster.

"Uh, huh, Natalia?" Percy asked quietly, his eyes fluttering open.

"Percy! Are you ok?" Natalia asked franticly. "You really need to stop ending up in here."

"Yeah, tell me about it," He replied grinning and nodding. "So it was Luke huh? Wow, didn't see that one coming."

"Me either, well there was that one argument but still…" Natalia replied, mumbling somewhat to herself.

"Ugh, I just realized something. It's almost the end of the summer so I have to go to another school!"

"Ha ha, I get to stay here all year round!" Natalia said, sticking out her tongue.

"Not fair, you know I might just not tell you what happened then."

"Wait, no you have to. Chiron's orders!"

"Fine, well after we left we went into New Jersey on a bus and the Furies were on so we had to fight them. Then we went to this place called Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium. But it turned out that Aunty Em was actually Medusa but I cut off her head. It was amazing! Then was the whole Arch fiasco when I had to take on Echidna and her Chimera. Then we get on a train to Colorado and see Ares who wants us to get his shield thing that he left at a water park. Well the park was a trap set up by Hephaestus but we managed to get Ares' shield back," Percy explains. "After that we almost got stuck forever in a place called the Lotus Hotel and Casino where time is frozen. It was crazy. Oh, did you know the entrance to the Underworld is in L.A.? Anyway, Luke's shoes almost pulled Grover into Tartarus but he got free luckily. I talked to Hades who thought I also stole his helm but then I found the bolt in my backpack!"

"Wait," Natalia interrupted. "How'd it get in your backpack?"

"I'm getting to that part ok? Well to get out of the underworld I had to use these magical pearl things but I only had three so I had to leave my mom. Then I met Ares again on a beach and had to fight him since he was the one who put the bolt in my bag. Well I stabbed him so he started to bleed ichor, the blood of the gods, and then he tried to kill me. But for some reason he stopped and left and gave me Hades' Helm of Darkness. After that I got the Furies, who work for Hades, to take his helm back to him. Then we went back to New York City and wow. Did you know that Olympus is at the top of the Empire State Building on the 600th floor? It's so cool! Anyway I gave the bolt back to Zeus and everything was good. Well until I got back and the whole Luke trying to kill me thing," Percy added with a grin.

"Wow, sounds like quite the exciting adventure. It was pretty boring here, nothing much happened. Just the usual, you know training and stuff. Oh wait, well I talked to Lee and he and the Apollo cabin agreed that they would teach me how to play some different musical instruments!" Natalia told him excitedly. "Right now were starting off with piano since it seems one of the simplest. I tried to learn flute but well, that didn't work so well."

"Why, what happened?" Percy asked, smiling.

"Well see Lee introduced me to his little sister Marissa who's our age and she told me she'd teach me to play flute. I was super psyched 'cause flutes are cool you know? Well I tried but I couldn't blow right so I got frustrated and well, the flute kinda err died," Natalia explained sheepishly. "I don't know how it happened but it like blew apart into a bazillion pieces and yeah. Marissa wasn't very happy but I told her I'd get her a new one. Know any good flute stores?"

"Wow, it _exploded_?" Percy asked, shocked. "How is that even possible?"

"I told you, I don't know. I was just really mad because it was only making these dumb fart noises and not the pretty whistles like Marissa could do. So I wanted it to die. And it did, so yeah," Natalia finished lamely.

Percy shook his head and burst out laughing making Natalia huff and cross her arms.

"Shut up! It's not really that funny," She muttered glaring at her brother. "At lease I don't jump out of buildings because I'm afraid of a little chihuahua!"

Percy stopped laughing and scowled. "It wasn't a chihuahua; it was a chimera in disguise!"

"Whatever you say _Perseus_," Natalia teased.

"Ugh really its Percy, I hate Perseus!" Percy whined.

"Sorry big bro, to make it up to you I'll ask Chiron if I can wheel in the TV thingy in here and we can watch SpongeBob together kay?"

"SpongeBob, I love SpongeBob! Can we watch the one where he gets the pet seahorse? I love that one!" Percy gushed.

"Sure, I love that one too! It reminds me of the hippocampi," Natalia agreed.

"What are hippocarpina…hippacasperoni…hippo…whatever you said," Percy said finally giving up frustrated.

"Hippocampi are half horses and half fish," Natalia explained laughing.

"Oh ok those sound awesome!" Percy exclaimed.

"Yeah and they're super fun to ride." Natalia added grinning.

"Oooh, I wanna ride a hippocanoodle thingy!" Percy cheered grinning as well.

"…Wow Percy…just wow…"

Face palm.

* * *

Just so you guys know: yes I realize Percy was slightly OOC at the end but the last part was just for comic relief.

Anyhoo, thank you to SweetSnow01, no one knows me like my twin, superawesomejennifer-thatme, Luli Cullen, Dark Mage 19, Jezabel Raewin, Wolf Lily, MeggyMooMoo, Becka the daughter of Hades, Harpygirl24, Myterymew, and Ben56ten for reviewing and answering my question!

For any new readers feel free to continue answering the question in the last chapter!

I felt like this chapter was somewhat hard to write, I had a small bout of dreaded writers block in the middle which is why this chapter is somewhat short. My apologies. I have so many ideas for future events and I just can't wait! I'm almost tempted to skip ahead to when she goes to Hogwarts but I won't. I might however skip over the school year since nothing really happens for her.

One super long A/N later…

Read and Review please!

~Phoenix


	7. Nasty Tasting Potions and Goodbye Percy

Drachmas and Galleons

Chapter 7

* * *

"Bye Perce, try not to get into too much trouble ok? I'd hate to be left out," Natalia hugged her brother tightly.

"I'll try Nat, the same goes for you alright?" Percy chuckled and returned the hug.

"Maybe, I was going to pay a visit to the twins late but I suppose I can reschedule."

Percy just laughed and the siblings hugged once more before bidding farewell. Percy was leaving for the school year to attend Meriwether College Prep. Natalia on the other hand was staying at the camp. The week prior she had received a letter from her good friend and naiad, Azure, asking when she would be returning to her undersea home but Natalia wanted to continue her training. Her father had decided that Natalia would be attending her uncle's school in Scotland, Hogwarts, in two years. Natalia would be fourteen and would transfer in as a fourth year.

Natalia watched as the brother waved to her hanging out the passenger side window and waved back, smiling at his goofy grin. He retracted his head back into the car and Natalia headed back down the hill. A mischievous smirk surfaced on her face as she walked purposefully to cabin eleven. She dramatically slammed open the door and locked eyes with Travis and Connor Stoll who were both wearing smirks identical to hers. To Hades with rescheduling, this could not wait.

* * *

"It's finished finally, after months of keeping up the stupid wards, thank the gods. So are you sure you wanna do this? I'm not positive that it'll work right for demi-gods," Natalia fretted, her smirk dropping.

"After all we went through to get the ingredients, not to mention mountains of research," Travis began.

"And the pain of keeping people away," Connor continued.

"Do you really think we'd just quit?" The two finished simultaneously.

Natalia's smirk fell back in place and she turned back around, heading outside towards the forest. Travis and Connor smirked as well and followed when she turned back over her shoulder and said those four words that would change future of their pranking careers.

"Let's rock and roll."

"So what's this purple one on the right?" Travis asked, pointed to one steaming cauldron.

"That, my friends, is the first potion we must take. It's called the Animagus dream potion and, well it gives us a dream about our Animagus form," Natalia answered, reading out of a potions textbook she had received from her father.

"Then what?" Connor asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"Then, we take this one here on my left and actually become Animagi," Natalia replied, eyes drifting back to the book. "We should probably do this one at a time since if you don't have complete concentration then you can get stuck in a weird half state. That might be another problem. You guys are demi-gods so you aren't exactly regular people but I'm not sure if god blood counts as magical blood. If one of us gets stuck in a half-human, half-animal state then we'd have to go to Chiron, thus revealing that we even did this in the first place which is bad."

"I know that we aren't going to anyway, but why would that be bad?" Travis asked.

"Well it says here that if you become an Animagus then you must go to your country's Ministry and register. They do all these weird tests on you or something I guess, I'm not really sure but I don't want to have to go to any officials."

"True point, well let's take this dream potion tonight after dinner and then tomorrow night we sneak back out here and take the other one. We'll go one night at a time okay?" Connor suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Travis and Natalia agreed.

With that Natalia replaced the repelling wards around the cauldrons and the three hurried back into camp before anyone came looking for the three pranksters.

Natalia found it hard to focus on lessons for the rest of the day, knowing what was coming. Before the week was done she would become and Animagus. On the way to dinner she contemplated what animal she would become. There were so many options, but she knew that she couldn't choose. The animal she would become would depend on her traits and personality. She sat down alone at table three and shared a secretive grin with the twins. Tonight she would find out what animal she would become and she couldn't wait.

"Bottoms up!" The trio knocked together their glasses then downed the slightly lumpy purple substance.

Travis immediately began gagging and Connor's nose wrinkled up as he leaned up against a nearby tree. Natalia's hands covered her mouth as she fought back the bile that rose in her throat. The potion's flavor was absolutely vile and the smell wasn't much better.

"Damn, I hope the second potion isn't as bad as this one! That was just gods awful!" Connor managed to cough out, sending a weak glare Natalia's way.

"I agree, it doesn't say anything about the flavor in the book," Natalia replied, rubbing her temples.

Travis nodded, stretching out his arms. "So now I guess we just go to bed and dream?"

"That's what it says. I guess tomorrow we'll just rendezvous back here and tell each other our dreams. Then we'll take the next potion," Natalia explained.

"Sounds good to us!" the boys replied simultaneously.

Natalia just rolled her eyes and followed the twins as they made their way out of the clearing. Natalia quickly reapplied the wards and the three headed back into camp. They didn't have to worry too much about being caught seeing as most of the campers were gone for the school year. Natalia and the twins parted ways and she headed to her cabin. She was suddenly overcome with extreme drowsiness and fell into bed, her eyelids fluttering shut as she began to dream.

* * *

The Dream

_Sea green eyes flicked open, observing the area. Rolling hills, the occasional trees and bushes, and a small pond appeared in her line of sight. Natalia carefully stretched out her back and neck, realizing from her perspective that she was very short. Stretching out her arm she noted that her arm, now another leg was covered in black fur and her hand was now a paw. She continued stretching; now standing on all four of her new legs. Her tail whipped around behind her as she struggled to retain balance on her unstable paws. _

"_What am I?" Natalia wondered aloud, recoiling slightly when a series of barks and whines reached her ears. _

_Natalia began to inspect herself, trying to figure out what she was. Her entire body was covered in black fur and small claws poked out from her small paws. She ran her tongue over her teeth, finding sharp canines replacing her flat human teeth. She ran a paw over her head, scratching a large triangular ear. Perhaps she was some sort of cat?_

_Natalia began walking unsteadily towards the pond, hoping to see her reflection. As she neared the small body of water she was greeted by familiar sea green eyes. The rest of the image was foreign however. Natalia's eyes widened as she realized what she was. She was a fox!_

End Dream

* * *

Natalia headed to breakfast the next morning, mulling over her dream. She was going to become a fox. After she had come to the realization in her dream, she ran around for a bit, getting used to the small sized and being on four legs. She found that when in her fox state she could hear, see, and smell much better than when she was human, though it was to be expected. As she gave her offering and headed back to her table she wondered what the twins dreamed of. She didn't see them but she was up unusually early and she didn't expect them around for another hour or so.

She absentmindedly pushed the food around her plate, picking at bits and pieces of it. Later, when the twins came down, looking slightly disheveled but with an excited gleam in their eyes, Natalia left her plate of mostly uneaten food and sat next to Connor.

"What was your dream?" Natalia asked in an anxious whisper, glancing around to make sure there were no eavesdroppers.

"I'm gonna be a coyote!" Connor answered gleefully.

"Cool! What about you Travis?" Natalia asked, noticing his glum look.

Connor snickered behind his hand, glancing at his twin. "Oh don't mind him, he's just upset because I'm a super cool manly animal and he's gonna be a-"

"A bird, I'm going to turn into a freaking bird!" Travis finished, glaring at the ground.

"Uh, what kind of bird would that be? You know," Natalia suggested, "eagles are manly, so are falcons. I don't see the problem."

"Oh if only I was a falcon. I'm gonna be a damn magpie!" Travis swore, holding his head in his hands.

"Actually," Connor butt in, still laughing, "I think it's quite fitting. Magpies are flashy and Travis will do _anything_ to get Katie to notice him."

"Shut up, no one asked you," Travis grumbled.

Connor continued to chuckle but didn't continue his taunting. Natalia was grinning as well and grabbed both the boys by their arms.

"All right boys, Travis stop moping, let's do this thing called being Animagi!" Natalia cheered, her voice growing softer when she noticed a few people staring.

"Wait," Connor interjected, pulling Natalia to a halt as they neared the woods. "I thought we weren't going to do it until dinner."

"We were but now I just can't wait," Natalia confessed, "We'll still do it one at a time though, just in case there are any malfunctions."

The twins nodded, one more enthusiastic than the other, and let Natalia pull them towards their clearing.

The three stared down at the bubbling green potion then the twins looked at Natalia. Natalia's eyes widened realizing that they wanted her to try first.

"Ok, here going nothing!" Natalia downed her glass, her face scrunching up in disgust.

Natalia's sea green eyes grew brighter and brighter until the twins had to avert their eyes to avoid blinding themselves. The glowing grew dimmer as Natalia scrunched up her eyes in concentration and fell to her knees with her head in her hands.

The twins watched with bated breath as her skin started to ripple. Small bumps formed on her skull and her nose turned up and stretched out. Clenched fists shrank into tiny paws and nails grew sharper and pointed. Leg bones reshaped themselves and feet shrank in on themselves as well. Shoes and clothes fell away as her body grew smaller and smaller. Fur replaced skin and two tiny pointed ear finally poked through the top of her head. Teeth grew smaller but much sharper and a bushy tail bushed out from her tail bone.

The twins had realized when Natalia's transformation had begun that they had forgotten to ask her what animal she would be come but now they didn't have too. Their attention was riveted on a small black fox lying before them. Eyelids slowly opened dazedly to reveal familiar sea green eyes staring back at them. Natalia was now a successful Animagus.

* * *

Okay super sorry for the long wait, had a bout of writers block in the middle and was also super-duper busy. Also, this chapter is very short but the next one will hopefully be longer. I just wanted to get something out before my readers hunted me down. On the bright side my birthday was 2 days ago so yay!

Review because reviews are the best late birthday presents you could give me!


	8. Attack at Camp

Drachmas and Galleons

Chapter 8

* * *

"Holy mother of Zeus!" Connor cried out, causing thunder to rumble threateningly in the distance yet he ignored it. "That has got to be the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

A small black fox yipped in agreement, sea green eyes shining.

"So how do you change back?" Travis asked cautiously, picturing himself stuck as a magpie forever.

Natalia tipped her head to the side, closing her eyes in though. She looked back up at Travis and flipped a paw as if to say 'Don't know, don't really care right now'. Travis' eyebrows furrow and Connor held his hand to his mouth in a futile attempt to stifle his laughter. Natalia roller her eyes and focused all of her will power on becoming a human. As Travis and Connor began arguing the black fox was starting to change.

"Guys," Natalia, now in her normal form, tried to cut in. "Hey guys, I'm back to normal. Hey Travis, Connor…ugh HEY!"

"One second Natalia, geez have some patience," Connor waved her away as he and his twin continued to argue about who was more masculine. "Magpies aren't manly!"

Natalia cocked an eyebrow, counting down on her fingers, eyes pointed towards the sky. 3, 2, 1…

"Wait…" Travis said, holding up a hand. "NATALIA! Oh thank the gods your back to normal. So is it pretty easy to transition?"

Natalia rolled her eyes skyward yet again, absentmindedly wondering that if she did it enough they would get stuck like that, and then grabbed another glass full of the nauseating green liquid. "Why don't you see for yourself birdboy?

"Shuddup," Travis muttered, grabbing the glass.

His nose wrinkled in disgust before he chugged the entire amount, throwing his glass on the ground as his arms instinctively grabbed his stomach. He let out a few pitiful moans and fell to his knees. He began to visibly shrink in on himself and his arms stretched out, slowing beginning to shift. Travis was now the size of a small bird, with glossy dark brown and black feathers covering his body. A small sharp beak replaced his mouth as his skull changed shape.

Connor soft chuckled were now replaced with full on laughter as he looked down on his twin. Magpie-Travis squawked indignantly and ruffled his feathers, causing Natalie to join in on the laughter.

"Aw Travis, your so cute!" Natalia giggled. "Maybe you should just stay like that! Maybe then Katie will notice you if you keep pecking on her window and bringing her shiny things!"

Travis let out a high chirp, flapping his wings. The sound of laughter stopped as the two humans watched as their bird counterpart attempted to fly. Travis managed to get a few feet off of the ground before falling back to the earth.

"Hmm, if you can't fly then we just might have a problem," Connor noted. "How is he supposed to travel and get around?"

"I dunno, I'll guess we'll figure something out. Okay Travis can you try and change back now?"

Travis tucked in his wings, bowing his head in concentration. A few tense seconds later and Travis was back in human form, squatting on the ground.

He stood up, dusting off his knees. "Well that was definitely a weird feeling. The few seconds I was flying was really cool though."

"I'll bet. I kind of wish I was a bird just to be able to fly," Natalia said, cocking her head to the sky and absentmindedly rubbing her wand. "Dad said though that when I go to Hogwarts that I can get some sort of magical flying broom."

"Lucky," Connor grumbled. "I'm gonna be all alone and completely flightless."

"See, being a magpie really isn't too bad!" Travis said proudly.

"Okay, Connor, you're up next!" Natalia handed him the last of the potion and she and Travis stood back, watching expectantly.

Connor nodded and tipped back his head, slurping down the liquid. He coughed, dropping the glass and holding his head in his hands. His back arched and he fell to the ground on all fours. His face began to elongate into a snout and his ears moved back on his head. Thick brown fur began sprouting up on his arms and legs and his fingernails sharpened into dangerous claws. Connor let out a whiny howl and Natalia couldn't hold back her triumphant smile.

They were all now successful Animagi.

* * *

That night around the campfire even Chiron noticed the trio's exuberant singing and wide smiles.

"I must ask, what has got you three in such a happy mood?" Chiron asked after everyone had finished the final song.

"Oh it's nothing really Chiron," Connor started, trying fruitlessly to tone down his grin.

"Yes, nothing really at all," Travis added, turning to Natalia.

"Just an exciting new prank we're planning," Natalia sang out, laughing at everyone's murmurs of complaint.

"We're sure you'll all just love it!" The three finished together, all simultaneously smirking as if they had planned it all along.

Chiron just chuckled and shook his head, knowing that no number of reprimands or punishments would make the three pranksters turn from their ways.

The three just laughed and headed with the rest of the crowd back to the cabins. Natalia waved good night to her two friends as she stepped into cabin three. She sluggishly changed into her pajamas and sat down on her bed yawning. She lay down so her head was on her pillow and pulled the covers up around her chin. Yawning once more she fell into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning Natalia awoke in a cold sweat with a feeling of dread. That night she had dreamed that there were strange people outside of the camp. They were strange in the fact that they could see the camp and worse. In her dream the people had broken into the camp and there had been a bloodbath because everyone was caught off guard. Goosebumps rose on Natalia flesh as her mind's eye flashed back into the dream. The bodies of her friends lying motionless on the bloodstained grass as black cloaked figures surveyed the damage. Natalia shivered when she remembered something that Annabeth had told her.

Half-blood dreams are prophetic…they almost always mean something.

She had to tell Chiron.

* * *

"CHIRON!" Natalia slammed open the door to the Big House, still slipping on one shoe. "Chiron help!"

"What is it child?" Chiron rose in alarm from where he was sitting playing cards with Mr. D. "What is the matter?"

"I-I had a dream. There were these people in black coats outside the camp. But they were different, they could see the camp and they attacked. No one knew what was going on and since there were so few of us… it didn't end in our favor," Natalia got out in between breaths. "Do you think it means something?"

"Hmm…well though it isn't for sure that anything will come of it and we don't know when it is I'll just tell everyone to be alert alright?" Chiron asked, still thinking.

"But Chiron, there is one slight flaw to that solution," Natalia pointed out, frowning. "The dream, it took place today."

"Oh my, are you quite sure?" Chiron asked gravely and when Natalia nodded reverently he changed his plans. "Okay if you are positive that it was today then we must alert everyone to prepare for a battle. This isn't a dream and they will not catch us off guard."

With that Chiron wheeled out of the Big House and stepped out of his wheel chair into his centaur form. He pulled out a conch shell that was used for calls to dinner and other events and blew three long notes; the call for red alert. The camp would soon be under attack.

Many people who were not awake were now up and racing out of their cabins and the sound of the horn. Campers were running around, strapping on various pieces of armor and passing along weaponry. Natalia raced into her cabin and rummaged through her trunk.

"Aha, I knew I still had it somewhere!" Natalia cried out as she pulled out the sand dollar bracelets and necklaces and put them on her wrists and neck. "I really should start wearing these on a regular basis."

Natalia pulled on the sand dollars and she raced back out of her cabin and up towards the hill where others were already positioned. A breastplate, helm, and small shield appeared from her magical jewelry. Using a special strap on the shield she fixed in on her left forearm so that she could still have two hands available. She held her dagger in her left and her wand in her right. A bow and a quiver of arrows were on her back but she hoped she wouldn't have to use them since she still wasn't completely confident of her archery skills.

Natalia was broken out of her inner monologue when a multitude of loud cracks sounded through the air. Now, charging up the hill was a small army. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and then shock when she noticed something. Half of the army consisted of warriors with swords and shields and also an array of mythical monsters. The other half though is what shocked her. The other half of the army was clothed in long black cloaks and had masks covering their faces. The masked half was holding something in their hands. Wands.

Natalia ran towards Chiron as the archers on both sides released their arrows. "Chiron! The ones with cloaks, they're wizards!"

Chiron's eyes widened in surprised then shouted out to let everyone else know. For a moment the arrows of the camp side stopped firing while every craned their heads for a look but started up again when the first jets of red light screamed across the ground.

Natalia shoved her way to the front line, stopping only once to help down a camper who had been lifted into the air by one of the wizard's spells. She began firing as many spells as she remembered and somewhere in the back of her mind she was glad that she had to chance to practice the more offensive spells.

"Confringo!" A jet of white hot light shot out of the tip of Natalia's wand and blasted back a nearby enemy in a burst of fire.

One of the black cloaked wizards stepped towards her with his wand held high. Natalia's eyes narrowed when she realized that he was chuckling at her.

"Everte Statum!" Natalia sucked in a sharp breath when the other wizard made the spells change course with just a simple flourish of his wand.

"But…how did you?"

"Ah little girl, I am much more advanced then you. I suggest you just give up now while you still have a chance," The dark figured said, still chuckling.

"Who are you?" Natalia wondered aloud while racking her mind for more spells.

"Who am I? That is of little importance but since you shall die soon I might as well tell you. My dear, my name is Antonin Dolohov. I'm one of the most skilled death eaters and member of the Dark Lord's inner circle. You cannot defeat me," Dolohov laughed darkly, raising his wand in slow motion.

His lips just started to form the spell that could possibly end her life when he froze. She watched shocked and confused and he began to fall backwards. It was then she noticed the tip of an arrow protruding from his collar.

"It didn't kill him but I did hit a nerve which knocked him unconscious. You alright there?" Natalia turned to see Lee Fletcher standing next to her holding his bow.

"Yeah I'm fine, that was a close one though, thanks," She replied nodding.

"Alright, the rest of the archers knew to focus of those creepy looking wizards so they're almost all taken down, we're down a few campers though and there are some severe injuries. I'm pretty sure we can finish this pretty quickly though," Lee informed her.

"Okay, let's go kick some serious butt."

Natalia snuck up behind a swordsman who was attempting to decapitate Brittany, a nine year old daughter of Aphrodite and leapt on his back. She wrapped her arm around his neck and held him in a headlock. Brittany swept his feet out from under him and Natalia helped pull him backwards to the ground. She quickly cast a body binding spell on his and continued on. She tucked away her wand and moved her dagger to her right hand. She began sparing with a blonde haired man and quickly disarmed his using a trick Annabeth had taught her. Drawing moisture from the humid air she made a water whip and lashed out at the man's face. He fell back into an archer. Zahra, a daughter of Ares, finished the two of them quickly, flashing Natalia a smile. Natalia grinned as well before going after a young dracanae.

"Ah a daughter of Poseidon," The dracanae hissed, licking her lips. "You will be very tasty indeed."

Natalia narrowed her eyes, lashing out with another water whip which hit the dracanae directly in the chest. She then slashed out wither her dagger, cutting one of the reptiles snake-like legs.

"You insolent little brat, I will get you for that!" She screamed, stabbing at Natalia with her spear.

Natalia sucked in a breath when the spear imbedded itself in her left shoulder before she had time to raise her shield. The dracanae stabbed again, this time aiming for Natalia's heart but she barely deflected the spearhead with her dagger. She shoved out her left forearm, much to the protest of her shoulder, hitting the dracanae with her shield. The dracanae hissed again before lunging at Natalia.

She felt the spear pierce her skin and hardly had time to let out a scream before she was enveloped in darkness.

* * *

Okay, I know it's been a while... I've just been super busy and you know how it is...school just sucks sometimes. So does getting sick...bleh I hate it. Also, thanks to all who reviewed, love you guys and everyone else who added me to favorites and alerts! Anyway hope you guys like it, read and review please! :)

~Phoenix


	9. Bad News and Spell Books

Drachmas and Galleons

Part 1

Chapter 9

* * *

Natalia awoke with a start, bolting upright. She flinched at the sharp bolts of pain that shot down her arms and legs. The tips of her fingers still tingled from what she guessed was morphine wearing off. She looked around the room, rubbing her eyes as they strained to adjust to the sudden light. She soon realized that she was in the infirmary of the Big House. Where was everyone?

"Hello?" Natalia asked her voice scratchy from not being used in a while. "Guys, where are you?"

She cleared her throat, hoping to relieve the dryness of her voice and looked down at herself. On her left an IV was hooked up but the usual steady drip of morphine was stopped. She wished she knew how to start it back up as the spikes of pain in her shoulder and leg were getting progressively worse. Her shoulder was bandaged tightly and there was a spot of dried blood right over her wound. Her clothes were filthy with dirt and blood and her hair felt like straw. She glanced down at her leg and grimaced. Her thigh had been expertly wrapped but the bandages were nearly soaked through with crimson. The pain in her leg wasn't as sharp as that in her shoulder and yet the steady throbs seemed to feel worse. She saw scratches and bruises up and down her arms and could feel them on her face. Natalia didn't know how long she'd been in here but she looked and felt horrible and if she could have anything in the entire world she probably would have just asked for a shower.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, ignoring her protesting joints and stood on wobbly legs. She quickly grasped onto the edge of her small bedside table as she felt her right knee give out. She gritted her teeth and stood again and noticed a small square of ambrosia setting on a napkin on the table. She quickly downed it and immediately felt a bit stronger. Her body still ached but the pain dulled slightly, enough for her to move without falling in a crumpled heap.

"Lee? Guys?" She called out, hoping for a response.

She slowly made her way out of the infirmary and into the main room and found Chiron speaking with Lee, Annabeth, Clarisse, and Katie. They seemed to be in the midst of a serious conversation and she knocked lightly on the doorway. All eyes turned to her and Chiron beckoned her over.

"It is good to see you up and about my dear. How are you feeling?"

"Not the greatest but alright I suppose," Natalia replied, shrugging. "What happened to me anyway?"

Chiron turned to look at Lee who answered her question. "The dracanae stabbed you with her spear in your left shoulder and right thigh. Your shoulder seems to be healing at a steady pace though we will definitely have to re-bandage your thigh. You've been out for about a week."

Natalia's eyes widened in shock; it had only seemed like hours. "What did I miss?"

The five looked at each other and Chiron nodded to Annabeth.

Annabeth sighed wearily and fixed her steady gaze on Natalia. "Do you know about the pine tree on the top of Half Blood Hill? Well that's Thalia's Tree. You see Thalia was a daughter of Zeus. About 5 or 6 years ago me, her, and…Luke came to Camp Half Blood. When Zeus claimed Thalia Hades was furious as she was the first child of the Big Three since their pact was made. Hades sent an army of monsters after her and they reached us just as we made our way up Half Blood Hill. She made us go and when she finally died at the top of the hill Zeus felt sorry for her so he made her into that tree to preserve her soul. As I'm sure you know the tree helps keep up the magical border that keeps mortals and monsters out. Well here's the big news: someone, well someone poisoned the tree."

Natalia sucked in a sharp breath and tentatively asked what would happen, fearing the worst.

"Since the tree is dying the borders are failing. And then, when the tree dies, the border will completely fall," Katie spoke up, looking somber. "Neither I, nor any of my siblings can do anything to help it."

"And neither can any of the Apollo campers," Lee added.

"What will we do?" Natalia asked, worried.

"Well that's what we're working on princess," Clarisse replied though even she was looking unusually anxious. "From what we can see there really isn't any way to heal the tree. Or well there isn't anything we can do with what limited resources we have."

"With the border failing more and more monsters will be able to get through so we need to work on other defenses," Chiron added. "We will need to get as many campers back as we can and start training."

Clarisse pulled out a map from a bag on the floor and spread it out over the large table. "We could have a border patrol," she suggested. "At least to cover our weakest points."

"Actually that sounds like a good idea. We don't have enough campers to cover the entire border but it we could strengthen at least some areas it would help," Annabeth agree, scanning the map.

"Clarisse," Chiron instructed. "You start working on the border patrol group. Make sure they are large enough and that there is a good balance with the campers. Annabeth, would you mind picking up Percy? I have a feeling we'll need him. Katie, get with the rest of your siblings and see if you can at least find a way to slow the poisoning. Lee, I want you to work with Katie and get your siblings to start teaching other campers some basic healing skills. Natalia, for now I want you working on your water control as much as possible. When Percy returns you two will be in charge of the patrol on the lake and along the ocean shore. I'll get the other counselors in here to discuss strategy with them later. We won't let this camp down if I have anything to say about it."

The five campers nodded in agreement and Clarisse and Annabeth headed outside. Lee and Natalia quickly headed into the infirmary and Natalia hopped up onto one of the cots. Lee gingerly removed the bandages from her thigh and frowned as Natalia sucked in a sharp breath.

"You okay Nat?"

"Yeah, just keep going. I need to get to the lake A.S.A.P. to practice and all," she replied through clenched teeth.

Lee nodded slowly as he began to carefully wipe off the excess blood from her skin. He then wrapped the wound in a fresh bandage and then saturated the bandages in a thin, clear liquid.

"What's that for?"

"Oh this?" Lee asked, holding up the bottle. At Natalia's nod he continued, "it's a waterproofing agent so that you can swim in your bandages. It's actually a very simple yet ingenious concoction using various water plants as well as-"

"Okay Lee, I appreciate it but I don't need a chemistry lesson right now, sorry," Natalia broke in, holding up her hand with a lopsided grin. "I really do need to get to work."

"Right sorry, you know how I get about anything medical," he replied with an apologetic smile.

Natalia laughed and nodded her understanding. She hopped down off of the cot, steadying herself on the metal railing. The two headed toward the front room of the Big House but Lee stopped her at the door.

"After dinner I'll redo your bandages and I'm going to start working on something to speed up the healing process so hopefully I'll have that done by then. So I'll meet you up here before the campfire and announcements."

"Okay thanks Lee! And we're still up for archery practice tomorrow morning right? I'll need the extra work so I can help as much as I can with patrols and such."

"Of course! Yeah, maybe we can start using the 'special arrows' soon," Lee replied with wink. "Though you might not be that good quite yet."

Natalia just rolled her eyes and gave him a light shove. He chuckled and the two stepped out onto the porch. Natalia noticed the dying pine right away. The usually large, magnificent tree was now turning brown with limp branches.

"Wow," she whispered under her breath as she gazed up on the hill.

Natalia waved a farewell to Lee and slipped into her cabin. She changed into a navy blue swimsuit, ran down to the lake and dove straight off the pier. Natalia bent the water to her will and sat down on the lake bed. She began lazily drawing patterns in the sand with her fingers and making miniature whirlpools picking up pebbles and confusing the few fish that swam around her head. Later she would have to dive out in the ocean waters of Long Island Sound to make sure her work with undersea currents was up to par.

After going over some basic underwater skills she decided to show off a bit to the campers training on the shore. Twisting her body at an angle she propelled herself upward, breaking through the surface and showering the campers with bursts of water. She slowly lowered herself down onto the dock and met the irritated glances with a sheepish smile.

"You guys uh, looked like you could um, use some... refreshment?"

Connor Stoll shoved his sword into the sand and walked up on the dock and stopped in front of her. He rolled his eyes and gave his own devilish smirk before replying, "Yeah, so do you," and promptly shoving her backwards into the water.

Natalia flailed her arms, searching for something to grab but Connor swiftly leaned backwards and gave a Cheshire Cat- like grin. She sank down a few feet before smiling to herself. She pushed off the bottom of the lake and threw herself up past the dock edge and landed standing over a shocked looking Connor.

"You seem to forget that I can't get wet. You, the other hand, can," and with that Natalia threw her hands up into the air, noting the dull ache in her left shoulder, and water flew in from the lake, over both sides of the pier, and formed a massive sphere of water swirling right above Connor's head.

"Don't. You. Dare."

"...Oops!"

* * *

After helping Connor dry off Natalia headed to the top fireworks beach to rest. Digging her toes into the warm sand and staring out over Long Island Sound she was hit with an immense feeling of homesickness. She closed her eyes, listening to the waves gently breaking against the shore. She gave a soft smile as she felt a light breeze roll in from over the water. Raising her right hand she pulled up basket ball sized sphere of ocean water and held it in front of her. Switching the water control over to her left hand, being careful not to agitate her wound, she pulled out her wand with her right hand.

"Glacius!"

A blast of chilling arctic air blew forth from her wand tip, freezing the water solid. The sphere of ice dropped onto the sand at her feet and she smiled brightly. Stepping back a few feet she pointed her wand at the ice ball and gave it a wave before flicking it at the ball.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Natalia's brow furrowed and her lips twisted into a frown when the ice ball just rolled slightly to the side. She tried it again and the ice jumped an inch before falling back onto the sand.

"Ugh! Accio spell book!"

Seconds later the worn purple spell book came flying towards her. She deftly caught and hurriedly flicked through the pages.

'_The Levitation Charm was invented in 1544 by warlock Jarleth Hobart who mistakenly believed that he had at last succeeded in doing what wizardkind had so far failed to do, and learnt to fly. __He eventually realized that he had invented a spell that would lift objects into the air and could cause them to hover for varying lengths of time, depending on their weight, and the skill of the spellcaster.'_

"The skill of the spell caster?" Natalia questioned aloud. "That's not very motivating for me..."

Flipping the page Natalia's eyebrows rose in interest.

"Shielding charm. Used to magically block spells and physical entities. The incantation is _protego _(pronounced proh-TAY-goh) and is cast using an upward parry-like flick," Natalia read aloud. "Well, that sounds quite helpful."

Carefully turning the page she continued reading. "This particular form of the shielding charm produces a bright transparent blue light that seems fog-like in appearance."

Grinning, she closed the spell book and sat the worn tome gently on the sand. She held out her wand arm and flicked her wrist upward.

"Protego!"

A thin burst of bluish light leaked out of the wand tip before dissipating. Grinning wildly she kicked the remaining lump of melting ice into the ocean and picked up the spell book before rushing back to her cabin. She hurriedly changed out of her swimsuit and then ran towards the Big House, nearly tripping out of her cabin. As she passed the edge of the woods however a chill ran down her spine as she got the overwhelming feeling of being watched. Frowning slightly she turned and walked a few feet into the trees, fingers resting on her dagger. Her eyes darted around, searching the trees for any sign of an intruder. Taking a few more steps she gave a small shriek before a hand was clapped over her mouth and the dagger was pulled from her grasp. Her eyes widened in shock as her back was pressed against a tree and her wrists were restrained tightly by another's hand. Struggling she met their steely gaze that held a hint of care.

"Natalia, how nice it is to see you."

* * *

A/N: WOW! Well, to quell the suspicion, no I am not dead, nor am I abandoning this story. My schedule has been insanely full with school so this break has been my only opportunity to write. You all have my sincerest apologies for that and I'll do my best to continue at a much faster rate. On the bright side the reviews, favorites, and follows of this story make me smile every time I get a new email about it. A huge thank you to you all for that, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Please leave me some feedback about what you like and dislike and anything you wish to see happen. If you have any questions let me know and I'll try and get back to you as soon as I can.

Thanks again!


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